


Girlfrenemies

by Tye



Category: Ever After High
Genre: Canon compliant until after spring unsprung, Coming Out, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Humor, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2018-04-03 09:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 77,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4096579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tye/pseuds/Tye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an attempt to quell royal and rebel tension, Apple and Raven pretend to be a couple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank Shia Labeouf for motivating me to finally start this. :P  
> I've been planning and plotting this for at least a year. Whenever I started another webisode would come out and I'd get frustrated because it meant I'd have to make adjustments to the plot. Finally I just said forget it, who cares if it doesn't fit exactly in the canon.  
> Anything after Spring Unsprung isn't canon in this fic. Events like Through the Woods or Date Night will be mentioned later on (but might happen a bit differently or have different results.)  
> Some of my inspiration came from the TV show Faking It. If you watch it and see parallels here, that's why.

When asked who is the person with the most Ever After High school spirit, Raven Queen is never the first to come to anyone's mind. Given the fact that she is actively rebelling against her fate to be the next Evil Queen, and thereby going against everything her school stands for, she probably isn't the second person either.

Most of her classmates don't see her as someone brimming with school pride. And she isn't. Raven is fine with admitting that. So yes, sometimes on Friday Pride-day when everyone is supposed to dress in school spirit wear, she'll wear regular street clothes because she just isn't feeling it. But she is excited for the Playoff Pep Rally this afternoon. Okay, maybe it's because it meant everyone got out of class early for the festivities. History of Evil Spells was cut short by 20 minutes. But she's still excited enough to put on her leather jacket with her school logo on it.

Her school hadn't had a real pep rally in years. Yeah, there was the Thronecoming spellebration, but that was more for the parade and the dance than the actual game. There wasn't much to be peppy about. The Bookball team sucked harder than she did when she tried using her magic for good. Everyone always said "This is gonna be our year!" Spoiler alert, it never was. Until this year. Thanks largely in part to Cerise, they were going to the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. So the Royal Student Council decided to celebrate with a playoff pep rally to boost the school's morale.

The rally was kicked off by the band playing the school song. Even though she played the piano and she couldn't possibly lug the school's Steinpage Baby Grand into the gym, she was still required to be there when the band performed. Professor Piper wanted her to help transport all the bigger instruments, and, for reasons beyond Raven's comprehension, play the woodblock as well. So while she was helping move the sousaphones back to the band room she missed the cheerhexers' performance and The Headmasters' speech. She caught the tail end of her best friend and Co-Royal Student Council President Maddie addressing the student body in Riddlish. She probably didn't mean to talk in a language only 5 people at their school understood, but she had a tendency to slur her languages. Her address was met with a scattered applause.

Shortly after the clubs and activities set up their booths for the second half of the rally, and the gym was transformed from assembly ground to fair ground. Raven wasn't involved with any of the booths, so she was free to walk around the pep rally for a short while. She didn't have a whole lot of time to spend. Her dad was coming to pick her up for the weekend. When she made plans with her father she didn't know there would be a playoff rally. She's a little disappointed her times' cut short, and that she'll have to miss the game, but she's pretty confident the team's going to win.

Ginger had asked earlier if she'd stop by the baking club's booth and try some of the cupcakes she made earlier. Raven had seen her making them this morning and they smelled like heaven, so she was happy to oblige. Raven thinks she said her booth was set up on the north end of the gym, but she can't remember for certain. It gives her an excuse to explore the fairest a little bit.

She passes by Blondie's booth promoting her Mirrorcast show. Blondie's taking a break from covering the fair to pass out handmade teddy bear key chains. They're cute, but Raven's key ring is already cluttered enough. Plus she really isn't in the mood for an exhausting, long-winded talk with Blondie. Every conversation they'd had left her wanting to take a nap.

Next to them is Sparrow's band. Tucker's fiddling around with one of their amps, which is letting off some serious sparks, and Sparrow's yelling at him about being careless with the equipment. It doesn't look like they'll be performing until it's fixed. She lets out a quiet sigh of relief. The last thing she wants to hear is Sparrow singing, or rather screaming, all throughout the fair.

She then walks by the Art club's water balloon toss, currently manned by Cedar and Cerise. She wants to say hello, but they seem pretty busy. A lot of people must be in the mood to get hit with water balloons and walk around soaking wet for the rest of the day. Even so, Raven wonders how they'll be able to go through the dozen or so tubs of water balloons they made. If you ask her it's too many. She'll swing back around later when things die down.

Across from them is The Marsh King handing out free samples to promote his new restaurant. She will definitely pass on that one. Those things he passes off as sloppy joes make it easier to understand why Ashlynn and Hunter are vegetarians.

There's a huge line of squealing girls in front of the next booth. She has to stand on her toes to see over the crowd to figure out what it actually is. She rolls her eyes. She should have figured it's the bookball team's kissing booth. It was probably Hopper's idea, but right now Daring is the one manning it. That explains the buzz.

She doesn't get Daring's appeal. Yeah, he has a pretty face. She hates to admit it, but even she was smitten by his strong jaw and gleaming white smile for a few days when she thought he'd written her a love poem. But he was also irritatingly narcissistic. The only love poem he'd ever write would probably be to himself. If these girls want to throw themselves at a handsome but vain guy, that's their business. She however walks on by.

Apple was stationed next door at a bobbing for apples station. Of course that would be her booth's theme. Raven assumes a few of those apples floating around in the wooden tub are from her admirers. Apple gets enough every day to feed a small army. She might enjoy her namesake food, but she couldn't possibly eat them all. Raven's not sure what club this is supposed to be for. Yearbook? Debate team? Peer Mediation? She lost track of how many organizations that girl's affiliated with. She's almost too dedicated if you ask her. Holly's there to help, but from those longing stares at the booth next door it's clear she'd rather be somewhere else.

"Holly we're really not that busy, so you're more than welcome to hexplore the fair if you like. Maybe visit next door?" Apple says kindly to her friend.

Holly laughs nervously and her cheeks flush pink. "Oh no I wouldn't do that! Daring's there right now. I couldn't possibly kiss Daring. That would be wrong! He's your Prince and I'm your Best Friend Forever After."

"Holly, I don't mind. As you know we're not dating yet."

"Well… if you really don't mind. Plus all the money they make goes to the Ogre Advancement Association. By kissing him I'd be giving to charity."

"That's the spirit! Meet back in 15 minutes alright?"

"Okay, thanks again Apple."

A soft smile blossoms across Apple's face as she watches Holly join the crowd surrounding their neighboring booth. This turns to a toothy grin accompanied by an overenthusiastic wave when she locks eyes with Raven standing a little ways away. "Raven, care to try for an apple? Don't worry they aren't poisoned." She giggles because she thinks she's being clever. It would be adorable; if she didn't drop references to their story almost daily.

"Thanks but I'll pass."

"So are you enjoying the pep rally?"

"Yeah. It's been spelltacular so far. The Royal Student Council did a great job planning it."

"Thanks! I'll have to tell Maddie. She organized most of it. All I did was sign a few papers." It's refreshing to see Apple acting humble.

She's about to ask if Apple could water her ferns while she's away for the weekend, but she's interrupted by a screech coming from the direction of the water balloon toss. It's not loud enough to silence the entire gym, but it's quieted enough for Raven to hear the conversation now going on at the booth.

"Faybelle I'm so sorry." Cedar says. "Stay here, I'll get you a towel." Raven can't see what's going on. Daring's mob of fan girls blocks the view of everything.

"Your water balloons just ruined my cheerhexing uniform!"

""It was an accident Faybelle." Cerise says defensively, "Cedar said she was sorry. Don't you think you're hexaggerating just a little?"

"Hexaggerating? How dare you! I have a performance in four hours, and I can't be seen wearing a wet, smelly, wrinkled uniform! "

"You got hit with one water balloon. You'll dry. Maybe if you hadn't been hexting you would've notice it flying towards you."

"Oh so now it's my fault I got hit? You two should have been paying better attention to your booth instead of gossiping! It's so typical of you rebels to shift the blame for your problems onto everybody else."

"Well it's so typical of you royals to make a fuss over something that's not a big deal!"

Oh hex no. Not this pointless, immature royal and rebel drama again. The last thing this school needs is another incident. If one of them gets angry a water balloon fight could ensue. Or an even messier food fight. The Art Club booth is located dangerously close to the Marsh King's sloppy joes.

Tension between royals and rebels was at an all-time high. For a short while things had calmed down a bit, but something had sparked and the two factions were at odds again. Things had been silently brewing for the past few weeks. All that was missing was the catalyst to ignite the tension into all-out war. Raven hoped they could put their differences aside for the pep rally, or that maybe everyone laughing and having a good time at the fair would calm things down. But it seems all the rally is doing is cause even more problems.

This is why they can't have nice things.

People had been asking her what to do about the tension. Like she knew. All she wanted was to choose her own destiny, not become a symbol of rebellion. She hated that she'd become the de facto rebel leader. She didn't agree with the royal's perspective, but she didn't want to fight with them either. Fighting wouldn't make their situation any better. There had to be a peaceful solution to all of this. So far though she hadn't been able to come up with anything.

"Raven? What in Grimm's name is going on over there?" Apple's standing on her toes trying to see over the crowd. Raven is a half a head taller than her, and if she can't see anything, Apple must be struggling. If it weren't for the heels she's always wearing she'd almost be as short as Lizzie.

"Come on." Raven grabs Apple by the wrist and they run to the gym's exit.

"Where are we going?" She asks as they pass by Blondie, who's stopped handing out key chains to investigate what's going on.

"To get a mop. I've got a bad feeling the gym is about to get trashed."

The two run down an empty hallway as fast as they can until they reach a janitor's closet. Raven yanks on the door handle, but it's locked.

"Let's see if I can open it." Hoping to magick the door open, she points her finger at the door handle and sends off a stream of purple energy. Instead of unlocking it, the whole door bursts into purple flames. Ashes and the melted door handle land in a pile at her feet.

"Oops." She winces, and mentally kicks herself for her magical slip up. Now she owes the school a new door.

She and Apple step over the remains of the door and enter the closet. Raven finds a bucket, and uses the mop sink to fill it with soap and water.

"I thought tension had gone down between royals and rebels." Apple says as she searches for some rags, We'd been getting along like peas and carrots for so long."

"I know, but it doesn't take much to escalate things."

"There has to be a way to get them to stop."

"I can only wish. I haven't been able to think of anything. Have you?"

Her curls bounce as she shakes her head, "We've gotten along fine in the past. How did we do it before?"

"Thronecoming and Spring Fairest seemed to calm things down. Looks like school festivals have lost their charm."

"Before that there was when Maddie almost got hexpelled. We're not repeating that one. Then there was when Hunter and Ashlynn announced they were dating."

A light bulb goes off in both their heads. Raven turns to Apple, and they exchange knowing grins. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"This school totally needs a new royal and rebel power couple. Who do we know that could be set up?" Apple asks.

"Bunny and Alistair seem like the obvious choice here."

Apple raises a brow, "But they're both royals."

"Really? I thought Alistair was a rebel."

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. He just seems like the rebel type."

"Well he's not. So no go on that one."

"What about Ginger and Hopper?" Raven suggests, knowing Ginger has a massive crush on him.

"Hopper's only got eyes for Briar." Apple taps her chin, "What about Dexter and… Dex and… oh you're better friends with him than me. Do you know if he likes anyone?"

"I'm not sure." It's a lie. From what she saw at the True Heart's Day Dance she's convinced that he has a thing for Cupid. She probably likes him back too. They'd be the perfect couple they were looking for. Raven adores Cupid, and she hates herself for being so bitter and spiteful about this. But she isn't quite ready to let her crush on Dexter go.

"Do you think he'd like Rosabella? There's a rumor going around that he's the next beast."

Dexter? The next Beast? People will believe anything these days. Next thing you know there'll be a rumor that she and Apple were switched at birth.

"Where did you hear that from?"

"Oh… you know… around."

"Well… I don't really think they'd work." Raven has to stifle a laugh. Rosabella's passionate, outgoing and wants to bring about big changes in the world, while Dexter's shy and likes to go with the flow of things and not rock the boat.

"How about Lizzie and Sparrow? They're both… loud?" She's reaching here. In a school their size there has to be some royal and rebel couple they could set up. Instead they're coming up with absurd, wildcard pairings that she and Daring would have a better chance at actually happening.

"Sparrow might go for it, but there's no way Lizzie would." Apple says as she spots the rags on a high up shelf, "We don't have to decide this right now. Let's just get what we came here for and think about it over the weekend."

Apple steps onto a bucket to reach the rags. Even with the bucket, she still has to balance on her toes to try and reach. Raven sees her eyes widen the moment she realizes she's lost her balance. Apple is headed face first towards the floor, and sticks out her arms to try and break her fall. Raven catches her, but the force of Apple landing on her is enough to knock her back a few steps. If the closet had been any bigger she would have fallen to the floor, but instead her back collides painfully with the broom rack on the wall. She has her arms wrapped around Apple's back, and Apple is hugging her tightly around her neck. Raven gets a whiff of Apple's cherry blossom scented perfume. When Apple realizes she's safely on the ground her grip loosens, and she unburies her head from Raven's collar.

"Sorry about that. Usually I'm not so clumsy." Apple smiles at her awkwardly.

Raven thinks she hears heels clicking down the hall. A few moments later a female figure appears in the doorway, "Apple? Raven? What are you two doing in the janitor's closet? And where did the door go?" Blondie's hair is dark and wet, probably from whatever brouhaha they missed in the gym.

Apple and Raven look at each other nervously for a brief second. Apple's eyes have widened and her pupils have dilated. She scurries out of Raven's arms. "We were getting a mop. To clean up after the water balloon fight."

"How did you know there was going to be a water balloon fight? I saw the two of you running out of the gym hand in hand before it actually started. You both look a little flustered. Are you sure there isn't more you aren't telling me." Blondie was notorious for asking probing questions like these. She calls it being inquisitive. Raven calls it being nosy. It's annoying when Blondie thinks there's a journalistic scoop where there actually isn't.

She looks at Apple for some guidance. Surely she has some insight on what to say. But she just stares back at her blankly.

Then a thought hits Raven. What if there was a scoop that would knock the socks off of Blondie, and everyone else who hears it. Blondie alluded to their hand holding. She found them in an awkward embrace. Apple was a royal. She was a rebel. It all makes perfect sense.

Raven gently takes Apple's hand. Apple tilts her head and knits her brows, but Raven just smiles at her tenderly for a moment before turning to Blondie.

"We're a couple."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was actually mistaken that Alistair was a rebel, which is where that bit came from :P  
> If you liked this chapter please feel free to leave comments and kudos! I'd love feedback or praise!  
> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for all the kudos and comments and praise! It makes it so much easier to write knowing I have fans :)

Apple has been internally screaming for two days straight.

It's kind of gotten in the way of her sleep.

No really. She would be cozily snuggled up in bed just about ready to drift off into dreamland. Then she remembered, the whole school thinks she's gay and in a relationship with her storybook villain. Come Sunday morning she's packing on extra concealer to hide those black and blue rings under her eyes.

When she told Raven the school needed a new royal and rebel power couple, she didn't mean them.

That was the opposite of what she wanted.

Apple was supposed to be Fairest of Them All. She was supposed to spend her high school career preparing for queendom and only after her story's end she would marry her Prince. She wasn't supposed to date people. It would put her whole reputation in jeopardy. Coupling up with Raven was the equivalent of throwing her credibility out the tower window and then nuking the remains.

A princess always needs to look proper, no matter what false rumors people are spreading about her. Still, it took every ounce of willpower she had to not make ugly, horrified faces when Raven told Blondie they were 'dating'. She didn't want to tip Blondie off that something was amiss. She kept her face clear of emotion and tone neutral when she told Raven and Blondie to run along without her. She would stay behind and clean up the door Raven burned down. After she swept up the ashes and dumped them in a nearby trashcan, she ran up to her room and hid from the world under her crimson comforter.

Once she had tucked herself away she didn't let anyone bother her. Complete isolation was a new and strange experience. She considered herself quite the extravert. But she needed some alone time to deal with what had just unfolded. Raven came in their room briefly to get some stuff for her trip home. If Raven noticed her she didn't acknowledge it. She heard her phone vibrate a few times, but she didn't answer. After a few missed hexts she turned it off completely.

Apple was too terrified to talk to her friends. Surely they would judge her for 'the thing' she now had going on with Raven. Going to the bookball game became out of the question. She stayed in on Friday night and worked late into the night on her thronework.

On Saturday Morning she debated if she should go to the castleteria for breakfast. She made it about halfway down the hall before running back to the safety of her room. She wasn't ready to leave her comfort zone. She really wanted some of the castleteria's waffles smothered in sweet maple syrup, but she had to settle for the food in her room. Last weekend her mother sent her a care package of her favorite candies. It was hardly nutritional, but at least she wouldn't starve.

A part of her knew she was being irrational. Her mother had always taught her that she shouldn't avoid her troubles. A good ruler must deal with her problems before they pile up and make her life even worse. The best thing to do would be to own up to what Raven said. Again and again she tried to drum up the courage to leave her dorm. Again and again she failed. She just could not bring herself to do it. Around dinnertime she gave up trying altogether.

When she finally did manage to fall asleep Saturday Night she had a nightmare. It was Legacy Day. When her name was called to sign the Storybook of Legends Headmaster Grimm told her dating The Evil Queen made her ineligible for her Destiny. She begged and pleaded with him to change his mind. She told him over and over the relationship wasn't real. But he didn't believe her. All the people she thought were her friends jeered and booed at her. She ran off the stage with tears stinging her eyes.

When she woke up her breathing was heavy and her heart was pounding. She tried to calm herself down and told herself it was just a nightmare. Headmaster Grimm didn't have that kind of power. Whatever was to come from her and Raven's relationship it wouldn't be that.

She tossed and turned all through the night until the sun came through her window. She was too frazzled to fall back asleep.

Apple didn't bother getting out of bed Sunday. What was the point? She's not going to do anything except panic until she hides once again. She turned on her TV and spent the whole day binge watching The Hex Prince of Spell Air. After a few hours when the second season starts her eyelids start to feel droopy. Two episodes later she's fallen asleep.

She has another dream. She and Raven are sitting in the bleachers together at a bookball game. Raven has one arm around her, the other clasps her hands beneath a blanket. She rests her head on Raven's shoulder. It's a warm, pleasant feeling, and Apple feels at peace swaddled in Raven's embrace.

Somewhere deep down. Really deep down. In a part of her buried so far she isn't even sure it's real, strange new feelings have been stirring. She doesn't want to take it all back. She wants this fake relationship. She wants to walk down the halls hand in hand with Raven and go on romantic picnics in the Enchanted Forest and tell her she's beautiful over and over again.

She's awoken from her slumber by the sound of an opening door. The details of her dream start becoming fuzzy. In walks Raven looking cheerful. Apple wonders how she can be so chipper when she is so miserable. It's not fair. Did this fake relationship affect her at all?

"Hey Apple! How was your weekend?" She asks.

Apple ignores the question. She's more than a little frustrated at Raven right now. She is the cause of all this stress she's been under this weekend. Raven is going to have to try harder than that to get back on her good side.

After a moment's silence, Raven looks her up and down and frowns. "Please don't tell me you stayed in bed all weekend."

In response, Apple turns the TV volume up higher.

"Okay I see how it is. You're giving me the silent treatment. Then I guess you won't mind if I take some of your candy." She slowly creeps from her side of the room over to Apple's, "Here I am about to pick up your 3 Musketeers bar. Unless you say something to stop me I am going to eat it. I am lowering my hand over your candy. Oh I'm about to pick it up." Apple glares at her and grabs the candy before Raven can take it. Normally she'd be willing to share, but she's not as generous when Raven is purposely being a pain in the glass.

"Looks like someone is a little possessive tonight. Let's see if I can snag this pack of gummi-bears."

Apple snatches up her gummi-bears and the rest of her candy strewn over her bed, and holds them close to her body. "Don't touch my food."

A satisfied smirk stretches across her face, "And the silent treatment is broken."

"Only because you're being a major thorn in my side."

Her expression softens. She sits down on the edge of her bed, and puts her hand on her shoulder. "You're right. I am sorry Apple. I shouldn't have told Blondie we're a couple without discussing it with you first. It was a bad move on my part. But I guess I wasn't really thinking of you when I did it, or I thought you'd be on board with it too."

"Well I'm not."

"I can see that, and I think I can understand why. But before you dismiss this idea completely, can I hexplain how it makes sense?"

"Yes, please hexplain how us pretending to be a couple makes any sense at all, because I'm not seeing it."

"Well, setting people up is hard work. Just ask Cupid how difficult it is to play matchmaker. We could try to pair up the perfect couple for weeks, or even months, and get nowhere. Plus people see us as the royal and rebel leaders. If we're the couple it would have a bigger effect than any royal and rebel combination we could come up with. Does that make sense?"

Apple hates to admit it, but her logic is on point. It actually makes sense for them to be a couple. If they lived in a fantasy world where reputations don't matter they could pull it off. In this reality Apple still has some doubts.

"But Raven I don't want people thinking that I'm - - I'm- "

"You're what? Lesbian? Bi? Hexperimenting? None of those are things worth being ashamed of."

"No not that. I don't want people thinking I'm dating the villain of my story."

"But I'm not going to be the-" She exhales sharply, "Forget it. Forget it. Let's not get into that argument. Look Apple, pretending to date me isn't going to radically change who you are. You're still the same smart, capable, future ruler you've always been. Our pretend relationship doesn't change that. Nobody is going to think you're any less royal, or give you a hard time over this. I promise."

"But what if they do?"

"Then they were a jerk to start with and they aren't worth keeping in your life. Your real friends will accept you no matter who you love. Or appear to love in our case."

"I-I guess so." Her voice wavers as she says it.

"Hey, I don't want to force you into this. Do you want to try telling Blondie we were joking?"

"It's too late for that. The whole school probably knows by now." She flings herself backwards on her bed and smothers her face with a pillow. "I really don't want to think about this anymore."

Raven gets off her bed, "Alright then. Just think about what I said okay? This doesn't have to be a bad thing."

She and Raven don't talk again until they cordially exchange good nights before going to sleep.

Apple wakes up in the morning to the sound of chirping birds and sunlight streaming through her window. The day seems like it would be just another typical day. She wants to lie curled up in her comforter forever. Today's slated to be anything but ordinary.

As much as she wants to hide from the world, she knows she can't do it forever. She just has to get this over with. It can't possibly be as awful as she imagines. Plus she's pretty sure Raven will drag her out of bed and force her up if she has to. She at least wants to give her the impression that she's doing this under her own willpower.

If it wasn't for her doves helping her she probably wouldn't have been able to get ready. Her trembling hands and sweaty palms are useless trying to get her hair curlers out. As usual Raven is ready before her, but unlike most days, she waits by the door instead of heading out without her. At least Apple doesn't have to do this alone. The thought of Raven by her side through the whole process is comforting.

"Ready to go?" Raven asks when she approaches the door. Apple gives a timid nod.

"Nervous?"

"A little."

"Me too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But I'm also excited to see how everyone will react." Raven opens the door and gestures with her hand, "After you, mademoiselle."

She steps out into the hallway feeling vulnerable. She looks to see if anyone is around, but it's empty. Raven takes her hand. She's pretty sure it's meant to make them look more like a couple, but Apple finds it calming. Her racing heartbeat slows a bit.

They make it to the end of the hall and down the stairs before they run into anyone. As they're leaving the stairwell they spot Darling Charming going in the opposite direction. She looks at them, and smiles their way. Apple's grip on Raven tightens.

"Hey, what's up Darling?" Raven says cordially.

"Hi guys! I haven't seen you all weekend. Were you at Briar's victory celebration? It was a total page ripper!"

"No I went home for the weekend."

"Oh right, I remember you telling me that. What about you Apple?"

"No. I was um… feeling a little under the weather."

"Aww... I'm sorry to hear that. Hope you're feeling better. Anyway I'll let you two get going. See you in class." She starts up the stairs. Before she gets very far she turns around, "Oh by the way Blondie was looking for you. Something about her Mirrorcast show. She should be in the castleteria."

Apple lets out a tiny yelp. Mirrorcast show? Does Blondie want to interview them about this?

Raven must have heard her, "It's going to be alright Apple. Let's just get some breakfast. You need a spellthy meal after eating all that candy this weekend."

They pass a few more familiar faces on their way to the castleteria. Raven smiles and waves with her free hand. Apple occasionally gives a tiny, polite nod. She isn't capable of doing much else. To Apple's relief nobody stops to talk.

They see Ginger standing outside the castleteria offering up some breakfast pastries. Raven leads them over to her.

"Hey Raven! Apple! Care to take a taste?"

"Sure Ginger! It's the least I can do after being a no show at your booth on Friday. I would've been there if it wasn't for the water balloon fight."

Raven picks up a raspberry Danish. Apple assumes it's for herself, but Raven places the sweet treat at her lips.

"Try it sweetie." Raven is staring at her with a coy little grin. Is she trying to flirt?

"Thanks Ra…veykins" She replies clumsily and takes a bite of the Danish. "Mmm this is delicious Ginger."

She grins, "Thanks. I'm glad you like them. I was trying out a new recipe and-" Her story is cut short by Sparrow running past them and swiping an entire tray of pastries. Ginger scoffs, "I can't believe he would- no, I can believe he would. Sparrow get back here! Those treats are for everyone!" With Ginger's attention diverted elsewhere, they get into the breakfast line.

Raven cringes at her and picks up a tray, "Raveykins? Please never call me that again."

She bites her lip, "Sorry. I was just trying to be flirty. It doesn't look like Ginger picked up on it though."

"Y'know it's funny. Darling didn't seem to notice either."

"I thought the whole school would be buzzing about us, but so far no one's brought it up." It's a little strange come to think of it. When there's gossip at Ever After it gets spread like wildfire.

"Maybe they're being polite? Or maybe we're not as important as we think we are?"

"Either way it's nice to have it not be the center of attention."

She and Raven pay for their food and look for a place to sit. The castleteria's pretty crowded with students getting breakfast. There's only a few places open for them. Daring, Briar, Lizzie, and Bunny are all eating at the table nearest them. Two tables away sit Cedar, Cupid, Rosabella, and Melody.

Royals and rebels are segregated. That's never a good sign.

Raven points at the table in-between them where Kitty sits alone. Normally they would avoid sitting at that table. Knowing Kitty it's probably the set up for some prank. But since Kitty hasn't taken a side in the royal and rebel conflict, it's the most neutral table.

"Hey Kitty, mind if we sit here?" Raven asks.

Kitty looks up from playing with her ketchup and hash brown remains with her fork and shoots them a toothy grin, "Oh not at all."

Kitty's staring them down as they take their seats. The mischievous look in her eyes makes Apple uneasy. Kitty tears her napkin into strips, "I see you both got scrambled eggs for breakfast."

They both nod unsurely.

"They taste a little funny today. I think the castleteria switched from real eggs, to fake ones." She giggles and disappears. A remnant of her smile hangs around before poofing away with the rest of her.

"I don't know what Kitty's talking about the eggs taste fine to me." Raven says with a mouthful of egg and bacon. Her words are slightly garbled. Apple wonders who taught Raven table manners.

Apple is spreading jelly on her toast when she sees Blondie looking around for a table. Her hand slips and she accidentally gets the jelly on her knuckles. Before Apple can safely look away Blondie spots them, and waves enthusiastically at them with her free hand. Apple wants to run and hide. Or throw up. Maybe both.

Blondie slams her tray down loudly at their table, "Hey I've been looking all over for you guys! I've been hexting you all weekend, but you didn't answer. I wanted to know if I had permission to break the news you told me on Friday."

Apple blinks a few times, "You mean, you haven't told anyone we're a couple?"

The moment the word 'couple' slips from her mouth all the heads in the castleteria shoot towards them. Either she said that louder than she intended or they're amazing eavesdroppers. There's a mixed bag of reactions. Daring knits his eyebrows and scratches his head. Lizzie raises an amused eyebrow. Cupid grins and sticks two thumbs up. Cedar gasps and puts her hands over her mouth. Briar's smiling proudly. Most people seem confused, amused, or shocked. She scans the crowd to see if there are any angry faces. To her relief, she doesn't see any.

"You two are dating?" Someone in the castleteria shouts at them. Apple feels her face getting hot. She gives a tiny nod and tries to squeak out a yes but her throat has gone dry.

Blondie gives a good hearted chuckle, "Of course I didn't tell anyone! I wasn't going to Out two of my best friends forever after without their permission. But since everybody knows about it now, can I spill the beans on my Mirrorcast show?"

Raven nods, "Of course." Apple's glad Raven took over the talking, because she's suddenly lost the ability to speak.

"Spelltastic! I just need one quick statement now, and then we'll do a more in-depth interview later. Hmm… I already promised I'd talk to Duchess today, can I get an interview with you guys after school tomorrow?"

"Sounds great Blondie."

Blondie holds up her MirrorPad so the camera faces her. "And we're going live in 3-2-1." Her demeanor changes from supportive friend to professional reporter, "Hello fellow fairytales! Blondie Lockes here to tell you that romance is in the air at Ever After High! Meet our school's new royally rebellious couple. Student Council Co-President and future Queen of Ever After Apple White, and her girlfriend, the notorious rebel Raven Queen."

Blondie turns the MirrorPad towards them. Apple is unsure of what to say, so she gives her best princess wave. Now that the news is out and Apple knows her reputation isn't going anywhere, her smile is a little bit brighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey kids, if you have queer friends please don't ever Out them without their permission. It's super disrespectful.
> 
> Feel free to shower me with praise. Or give me criticism. Both are super helpful.


	3. Chapter 3

Ever After had been absolutely buzzing with gossip since the announcement of Apple and Raven's relationship. To Raven it seems like people care more that she's dating Apple than she's rebelling against her destiny. Which in all honesty doesn't shock her that much. High schoolers are shallow like that. The kids at her school absolutely would be more interested in who's dating who than whether or not fairytale characters should be able to choose their own fate.

Regardless, she could already see their relationship having its desired effect. At least she thinks it is. Today in chemythstry Daring and Sparrow were lab partners. When their hexperiment went south and blew up in their faces, they were both pretty polite about the whole thing. Well, Daring still called Sparrow a punk. And Sparrow still said he was too distracted by his reflection. And they still glared at each other for a few minutes afterwards. But there was no physical fight, science lab didn't get trashed, and the words royal and rebel were never uttered. They were just annoyed that the other was reckless, not because they had two completely different worldviews.

It was a small step, but it was step in the right direction.

She hadn't really noticed people treating her that much differently than before. A lot of people stared at her a little longer than usual, but really that was nothing new. What was turning into an adjustment was spending so much of her time with Apple. They lived together, so they saw each other every morning and night. During the day though they both did their own thing, and didn't cross paths much. Now they were expected to walk to class together, and eat meals together, and spend time after school together, and just in general be a love sick couple together. She didn't mind spending a little extra time with her fake girlfriend if it meant they were a more convincing couple. There was, however, a limit to how much of Apple's sugary-sweet-perfect-princessness she could take in one sitting.

It's not like Raven actively avoids Apple during the school day. Okay, maybe she's done that once or twice. But she doesn't do it frequently, and she always had good reason to do so. Apple is a nice enough person. Most of the time. She never tried to annoy her on purpose, but some of her mannerism could rub her the wrong way. Apple hasn't said or done anything yet, but she's sure it's bound to happen eventually.

Apple was handling all this surprisingly well in Raven's opinion. When they talked on Sunday night she was about ready to call her mom and insist she be homeschooled. Now she's reveling in the extra attention she's getting. The hard part for Apple was not knowing what people would think once the news broke. Now that everyone knows and the reception was generally positive, she could breathe easy.

The only negative reactions she's seen were from Apple's fanboys. There were dudes outright sobbing that Raven had claimed her heart. Some of them vowed revenge on her for quote 'swindling their fair maiden into falling in love with her'. It was kind of hilarious, because that's pretty much how it happened. She really wasn't that concerned about them though. There were a dozen other beautiful princesses at this school. They'd become obsessed with another one soon enough.

People were pounding her with questions. Mostly some variant of 'Is it true you and Apple are dating?'. To which she would say yes. That was the only easy question. The rest required a bit more consideration. Her decision to fake date was totally headfirst and impulsive. She never came up with a backstory on how she and Apple became a couple. Raven is about to tear her hair out. She's spent the whole day trying to come up with something believable. It's 10 minutes before the interview is supposed to start, and she has nothing to show for it.

They arranged for the interview to be at The Wonderland Haberdashery and Tea Shoppe. Apple insisted they both arrive early to prepare. Raven thought that meant come up with a story of how they got together. Instead, it meant fix their hair and makeup in the bathroom.

Apple holds two almost identical gold bracelets in each hand. She's been considering which one to wear for what seems like the past hour. "What do you think Raven, should I go with the butterfly charm bracelet, or the hearts and flowers charm bracelet?"

"I dunno. They both look the same to me."

Apple glances at her and smirks playfully. "It looks like someone's a little nervous."

"What? Me? Nervous? Not even a little."

She tsks and shakes her head, "Raven, you're putting mascara on your eyebrows."

Raven had been careless, and sure enough her brows are now a few shades darker than usual, "I uh… meant to do that."

Apple rolls her eyes and reaches into her bag. "I always have a few make up wipes with me. You never know when they can come in handy, and a princess is always prepared."

Apple places one hand delicately on her shoulder and with the other she dabs at her eyebrows. "Isn't it funny how you're the one that's nervous now?"

She frowns, "Yeah, it's hilarious."

"Have you been on Blondie's show before?"

"Depends what you mean. I've been talked about on the show a quite few times, but I've only been interviewed twice. Once, back when Hunter and Ashlynn became a thing, and once after I became Thronecoming queen."

"Then you know there's nothing to be nervous about. Blondie's quite a professional, she'll make sure everything goes smoothly."

"Nothing to be nervous about! Apple, how are we supposed to convince the whole school we're a couple when we haven't even talked about a backstory?"

From the open window she hears a bird let out a loud, startled honk. Raven hopes it's not something caused by a magical temper tantrum. But she didn't feel herself release any magic, nor does see any of her signature purple energy outside where the birds were resting. She'd investigate more if she didn't have other worries on her mind.

"Don't worry Raven I've got it covered. You came up with the idea for us to date. I figure it was only fair I came up with the love story behind it."

"Do you mind filling me in on some of the details?" She says irritably. "So I don't, you know, say something that contradicts your entire story."

"It's not fairly complicated. We had secret crushes. I confessed. We became a couple. We lived happily ever after. The end."

"Shouldn't we flesh it out more?"

"It's better to keep things simple. The more intricate the lie is, the harder it is to keep up."

"When did you, the pillar of honesty, become such a lying hexpert?"

Her cheeks tinge pink, "Well… a good ruler needs to be able to spot a liar right?" She stops fussing with her eyebrows, and turns Raven to face the mirror, "There we go. All better!"

"Thanks Apple." She does a quick check in the mirror, and determines she looks well enough, "I think I'll go order a cup of tea before the interview starts."

"Good idea! It's important to stay hydrated. I'll meet you in a few minutes. I just need to fix my hair. Would you mind getting me a cup of chamomile while you're at it?"

"Not a problem. Don't take too long. You don't want to miss the interview." She jokes. She's about to leave the bathroom when a thought strikes her, "Oh and Apple."

"Yeah?"

"You should go with the hearts and flowers bracelet."

Apple gives her a friendly nod.

Upon seeing the crowd of people in the restaurant, Raven almost wants to run back into the bathroom. She's never seen this place so packed. And there are people lined up outside looking in through the windows. Are people really that anxious to see their interview in person?

Maddie passes by directing a herd of flying tea sets. "Now come on you guys! I know you've been working than usual, but you know you don't get a break until the red cuckoo clock strikes five oh three."

Raven can't help but giggle at her best friend. Leave it to Maddie make her feel better without even trying. Maddie turns her attention away from the tea sets towards Raven, "Oh here you go Raven! Have some tranquility tea to calm your nerves. I added in a little vanilla because I know it's your favorite. And here's Apple's chamomile tea with just a hint of honey. Tell her I said hello if I don't get a chance!"

Raven takes the two mismatched cups and saucers, "Thanks Maddie. Wait, how did you know I was going to-" Before she can finish her sentence Maddie is off tending to the other customers.

Raven is easily able to spot the table where the interview will take place. Dexter's over at it fiddling with a camera on a tripod.

As she approaches the table butterflies start to float around uncomfortably in her stomach. She hasn't talked to Dexter since before the reveal. She had sort of kind of been avoiding him. It was stupid. She can't believe she's being such a stereotypical lovelorn teenage girl. Still, here she is feeling nervous around a guy she can't have because he's into someone else and she's supposed to be into someone else too.

She sets her cups of tea on the table, "Hey Dexter. Need any help with that?"

Dexter flinches, and he looks up from the tripod, "Raven! Gosh I didn't see you there. You startled me."

"Sorry." There she goes making things awkward.

"No no you're fine! I mean, it's fine. Uh.. I'm almost done setting up. I'm just waiting for Humphrey and Blondie to get here so I can test the sound equipment."

"Cool. Will they be here soon?"

"I just got a hext from them saying they're almost here."

"Good to hear." She sits down and takes a sip of her tea. It has a pleasant taste, but the heat from it nearly scalds her tongue.

Dexter is looking right at her, "Hey Raven, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Dex."

"Well, it's a little personal, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Ask away! I'm an open book."

"Well I was wondering something . There are girls who just like girls, and there's girls who like girls and guys. And I guess I was just wondering if you, you know, like girls and guys or if you just like girls or uh… it is okay to ask you this right?"

She chuckles. She's been waiting for someone to ask this.

"I'm pansexual Dexter."

"Oh Okay. Uh… sorry, what does that mean?"

"It means I like girls. And guys. And people who don't identify as either. When it comes to relationships, my partner's gender isn't important to me."

Raven's known she was queer since middle school. She started having feelings for guys the same time she started having them for girls. She never really questioned it, or went through some kind of 'gay crisis'. It just was who she was, and there wasn't any reason to be anything but accepting of herself.

The only people she explicitly came out to where her Dad and Maddie. And now Dexter too. But she had that talk with Dad and Maddie long before she and Apple became a thing. She didn't feel the need to blurt her pansexuality out to the masses. It wasn't anything she was ashamed of, but she thought of it as something personal and not a factoid about her that everyone needed to know.

She doesn't have to tell anyone now. She's openly dating a girl, so the whole school must assume she's… something queer. Probably a lesbian, since pansexual erasure seems to be all the rage right now. She's glad Dexter was nice enough to ask before making assumptions.

It's funny though. Despite being pan, she never really wanted to date women. When she pictured her ideal soul mate it was always a man. It was like girls were dogs and guys were cats. She wouldn't mind having either cuddle up with her on the sofa, but when it came down to which fluffy animal she'd take home as a pet, cats won with no question.

Apple comes out of the bathroom, looking flawless as usual. She'd thought about telling Apple she's pan, but she's not sure if she should. She's a little worried Apple would freak out on her.

Apple gives her shoulder a quick squeeze before joining her at the table. "Hey sweetie. Thanks for the tea!"

Thank Grimm she's gotten better with pet names.

Apple and Dexter make small talk that Raven only half listens to before Blondie and Humphrey enter the Tea Shoppe.

"Sorry for the delay everyone! Are we ready to get going?" She and Apple both nod. Blondie plops down next to Apple while Humphrey and Dexter make a few final technical adjustments.

"I'm so hexcited to get started! This is one of the most highly anticipated MirrorCasts ever! Thanks again for letting me do this."

Apple nods at her, "No problem Blondie."

Dexter holds up three fingers, "We're rolling in three, two, one."

As the report gets going Apple picks up Raven's hand and places it on the table, then rests her own hand on top. Raven notices the hearts and flowers bracelet around her wrist.

"Hello fellow fairytales! Blondie Lockes here with the hexclusive scoop on Ever After High's newest couple. With me right now, Apple White and Raven Queen."

Apple flashes a bright smile that puts Daring's to shame. Raven smiles too, though much meeker.

"How are you two doing today?"

"We're hexcellent Blondie. Thanks for asking." Apple answers for both of them.

"Now before we get started we have a special treat. We asked you fellow fairy tales for your reaction to the new couple, and recorded your responses!"

Blondie takes out her MirrorPad to show her and Apple the video she's edited. "Those of you watching this interview live should pull out your MirrorPads so you can watch along with us. Those watching over the MirrorNet should just hang tight. The video will start playing automatically."

The video starts with Cupid sitting in her radio booth. She puts her hands over her heart. "When two people are meant to be, love always finds a way. I'm glad Raven and Apple decided to follow their true hearts."

The scene then cuts to Ashlynn and Hunter sitting outside by the fountain, "We're glad Apple and Raven decided to not let royal and rebel labels keep them apart." Ashlynn says.

Hunter smiles at her, "It's hexcellent to see more people becoming open minded to these kinds of things."

The video moves to Daring as he laces up his track and shield shoes, "I must admit I was quite shocked! I didn't even know Apple and Raven were gay! Okay I could see Raven being gay, but Apple? She can't be fully gay if she's going to marry me right?"

Bunny plays a melody on her horn before turning to the camera, "Good for them! Confessing your feelings for someone you like can be difficult. Not that I would know from personal experience or anything! " She smiles nervously and her cheeks redden.

Lizzie sits in the castleteria at lunchtime. She chops her cor-on-the-cob in half, "Well it took them long enough. It was obvious they liked each other from the start. Why do you think Apple switched her room so she could live with Raven?"

The camera pans over to Briar, who's eating beside her, "I'm glad for them. How could I not be? Seeing my best friends forever after happy makes me happy too."

Faybelle shows off some of her acrobatics to the camera before stopping to talk, "I don't see why everyone's losing themselves over this. I give it six weeks. Tops."

Duchess does ballet out on the lake. She flashes a crazy furious look at the camera, and grabs right out of the cameraman's hands. Dexter can be heard gawking in the background, "So Apple can date her storybook villain, and still get a Happily Ever After? Oh that is so not fair!"

Blondie looks up from her MirrorPad and whispers sharply off to Dexter and Humphrey, "I thought we were going to edit this part out!"

Dexter points at Humphrey. Humphrey points at Dex. Blondie frowns at both of them.

The video continues with Sparrow plays a riff on his guitar, "Girl on girl action is totally **HOOOOOOO** -"

Blondie pounds the off button on her tablet, "Okay I think that's enough of the reactions! How about we move on to some questions?"

"That sounds hexcellent Blondie." Apple says.

"Let's start with the big one I bet everyone is dying to know. How long have you guys been a couple?"

Raven holds back a laugh, "Oh it was a fairy recent development."

Apple stomps on her foot beneath the table. Raven gets the message, stop talking.

Apple elaborates. "We were both a little bit nervous about coming out to everyone, so we kept our relationship to ourselves for a short while."

"Are you guys glad you came out?"

"Definitely." Apple says. "I don't regret for anything."

"Me either."

"How did you guys decide to become a couple?"

"Well I had feeling for Raven from afar for a while, and I decided to tell her to how I felt. I went in hexpecting the worse, and as it turned out she felt the same way." She picks up their clasped hands, "The rest is history."

"That is so sweet! Apple, when did you realize you had feelings for Raven? And Raven, when did you realize you had feelings for Apple?"

"Well it definitely took me by surprise." Apple laughs, "Raven and I had been spending a lot of time together, and one day it just hit me. You know, I really like her."

"I guess I always had some sort of feelings for Apple, but the day she told me she liked me is when I fully realized what those feelings were."

"Have you told your parents yet? If so, what was Snow White's reaction?"

"I haven't quite gotten there yet Blondie. Like we said, the relationship is a pretty new thing."

"Understandable. Now for some easier questions. What is your favorite thing about your new girlfriend?"

Apple answers first, "I know it sounds weird, but her hands."

Raven laughs, "Really? My hands?"

"Yeah, they're so soft. You have to tell me what kind of lotion you use."

"Okay. Well, I guess I like Apple's work ethic. Seriously, she's so good at getting things done and I wish I had her motivation. Also her eyes." Her answer doesn't quite feel compete with just work ethic, so she hastily tacks on the last bit.

"What is your favorite romantic activity to do together?"

"A stroll through the enchanted forest." Apple says. "I love being with all the woodland creatures."

"I'm not quite as in tune with nature, so I'll say watching romantic movies at the multihex."

"Ooh, can I change my answer to hers!"

"Of course you can! Now Apple, there's been some rumors that you've flipped the script and became a rebel. Care to comment?"

"Those rumors are completely false. I'm still as committed to my destiny as ever."

"Even though you're dating your storybook villain?"

"I am, and I still fully hexpect her to poison me in a few years. As I've said before this is high school. Who I choose to date now while I'm still preparing for my destiny won't affect my story in the long run."

"So you guys don't plan on staying together forever after?"

Raven looks at Apple with what she hopes comes across as a tender, loving expression, "Right now, we're just taking things one day at a time."

Blondie smiles at them, "Thank you Apple and Raven for that fableous look into your relationship. That wraps up our report for today. Tune in tomorrow when I talk to Professor Badwolf about the benefits of deep breathing hexercises. Until next time fellow fairy tales!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought Raven's sexuality was important to mention, but I hope I didn't get to preachy with it. A lot of fics I've read that went into topics like sexuality felt that way to me, and it's not something I particularly like.
> 
> Also the author is a cat person. Sorry not sorry dog lovers.
> 
> Still searching for that beta.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize for the major delay in posting this chapter. I was having some communication difficulties with me beta.
> 
> On that note, everyone give a big round of applause to Planyx, my beta.
> 
> Also with the recent release of Way Too Wonderland, I'd like to give everyone a friendly reminder that nothing after Spring Unsprung is canon in this fic.

Apple is shocked at how much she loves being in a fake relationship with Raven. They should have done this months ago. 

She had thought it would be disastrous, but it was turning out to be the opposite. Her classmates lauded her for ‘coming out’ and becoming more open minded, rather than rejecting her for not quite being the picture perfect princess. Raven was right, she could go out with whoever she wanted and still be a good student, role model, and future ruler. Nobody thought she was being hypocritical. At least, not that many people thought she was being hypocritical.

Even before Raven, she never thought it was wrong to casually (emphasis on the casually) date outside a person’s destiny. It was when things got serious, like ‘forgo my destiny to be with this person’ serious where she started to take issue. Most people did date around, at least a little. Briar and Blondie have both seen a few different guys, and she can’t even count how many girls Daring has taken on dates. Her mother’s disastrous Thronecoming date with Professor Badwolf was one of her favorite bedtime stories growing up. 

If Apple wanted to casually date, she would have no problem doing so. There were dozens of boys practically begging to take her out. But she had never been interested in dating anyone. She had more important matters than boys to concern herself with, like her schoolwork, her friends, and preparing for her destiny. Some people have commented on her disinterest in a relationship as odd, but she doesn’t see anything wrong with it.

Her relationship with Raven is somewhere in between casual and serious. They’re seeing each other exclusively, calling the other their girlfriend, and just last night Apple updated her MyChapter status from single to in a relationship. However, they would never give the impression that they would throw away their destinies to be with each other forever after. For right now, they’re just two girls with ‘feelings’ for each other. Not two girls madly in love.

Apple thought it would be a little weird pretending to have feelings for Raven, but it surprisingly hasn’t been that difficult. She was actually having fun with it. Especially coming up with pet names for Raven. First it was Sweetie, then Sweetheart. Yesterday she called her Pumpkin. This morning she wakes up to sunlight streaming into her room, and thinks Sunshine would be perfect for today.

All the couple-y things they’d been doing the past week, holding hands, hugging, looking at each other with pride when they did something wonderlandiful. Those were things they were already doing as friends. It was a little odd to think that all the gestures she thought of as friendly could be interpreted as romantic, but she’s always been a naturally affectionate person. It’s not like Raven’s the only friend she’s close physically with. She shows friends how much she cared about them through touch.

She and Raven had left their room hand in hand every day this week. She’s anticipating they’ll do the same thing today, but instead she wakes up to a sticky note on her mirror from Raven saying that she had to leave early. Her General Villainy Class is going on a field trip, and they leave at the crack of dawn. The heart she uses to sign the note makes Apple feel a little giddy.

It was so considerate of Raven to leave a message. She had mentioned the field trip earlier, but Apple had gotten the dates mixed up. Apple thought it was next Friday, not this Friday. If it wasn’t for the note Apple would have gotten into a total worry flurry.

Apple’s disappointed that she has to go the rest of the day without seeing Raven. Just a little bit though. She’s glad Raven’s getting educated in the ways of being evil, but she does wish she was here with her. Walking hand in hand in the halls is starting to feel so natural. So right. All day long it feels as though something is missing.

Maybe it’s just a side effect of everyone else thinking there’s something missing. Today she’s been asked by half the student body why she isn’t with Raven. By the time Princessology, her last class of the day, rolls around she’s tired of explaining to everyone that Raven’s out on a field trip and no they aren’t having relationship troubles.

Princessology is one of Apple’s favorite classes, but lately it’s left her feeling a little bit stressed. It wasn’t the class or coursework that was making her tense. It was her classmate, Duchess Swan. 

Sitting across from Duchess never used to be a problem. They got along for the most part, even if their friendship was a little rocky. Now Duchess can’t seem to occupy the same space without sneering at her. It’s like she’s taken a personal offense to her relationship with Raven. Every day when she walks by to sit down at her desk Duchess gives her the dirtiest look. Whenever Apple speaks in class Duchess will loudly scoff and roll her eyes. It’s distracting and hurtful enough that she’s started participating in class less.

Apple genuinely likes and cares about Duchess, and she wishes they were better friends. Almost all of the drama between them is self-created by Duchess, and so incredibly pointless. She’s sure if they could just sit down and chat about their issues, they could patch up their relationship.

Duchess isn’t an inherently mean person. Apple’s seen her softer, kinder side before. But she is a bitter and envious person. That’s where the root of most of their problems lie. Apple has never purposefully stolen the spotlight away from Duchess. It just kind of happens. That’s the best way to put it. It happens. Apple does feel bad about it. She gets more than enough attention being the future Fairest One of All, and she would gladly share it with her if she could. But Duchess’ spitefulness isn’t really doing her any favors. The best way to be well-liked isn’t to complain loudly and often that her life isn’t fair. A positive attitude never hurt anybody.

And then there’s Daring. That drives a wedge even further between them. If it were up to her, she could have Daring, until of course she needed him back for their story. Daring just doesn’t reciprocate her feelings. There’s really nothing Apple can do about that. (If she’s really honest with herself, Daring isn’t really into her that way either. Not yet anyway. She’s convinced that in time they can get there.)

Sure enough when Apple gets to class Duchess is sitting in her desk, and gives her the stink eye as she navigates through the row to her seat. Duchess being in class though isn’t all bad. Since she’s here then she’s obviously back from the General Villainy class trip. Which means Raven must be as well.

There’s a note on the board in Mrs. Her Majesty The White Queen’s neat, loopy calligraphy saying she will be a few minutes late, and instructs the class not to leave. Somehow a rumor spread that if a Professor is more than 15 minutes late to class the class can leave. Apple thought it was ridiculous, but a lot of other people bought it. A month ago the entire Advanced Wooing class skipped out when King Charming was late. Naturally they were caught, and they all received detention.

Since there’s a little extra time before class Apple decides to try and make nice with Duchess. Emphasis on the try. The worst that can happen is that she’ll ignore her.

She turns to Duchess and flashes a polite smile, “Hi Duchess. How was the General Villainy field trip?”

Duchess contorts her face into a disgusted look. Apple’s not sure if it’s directed at the field trip, or at her.

“I take it it wasn’t that great then?”

Still no response from her. Honestly does she have to be so childish about this? Apple is only trying to be nice. Apple chalks it up to the field trip leaving her in a bad mood. She really does want to make things better though, so she gives it one more shot.

“Where did your class go anyhow? Raven didn’t give me too many details.”

Her question must’ve piqued Duchess’ interest, as her eyes narrow, and a thin, satisfied smile stretches across her face.

“Really? You mean your fake girlfriend doesn’t tell you everything?”

“Hexcuse me?” Apple does her best not to let on, but she feels her stomach drop. She couldn’t have heard that right. Could she? Does Duchess really know the truth, or is she just being bitter?

“You heard me. I said your fake girlfriend. I know you and Raven are just pretending to date.”

Apple laughs breathily. “What? Where in Ever After would you get such a silly notion?”

“I heard you. What was it you said to Raven? Oh yeah,” She raises the pitch of her voice and does a poor impersonation of Apple, “You came up with the idea for us to pretend date. I figured it was only fair I came up with the pretend love story behind it.”

Apple recalls hearing a bird outside the restroom window. She thought it was a goose, but it must have been a certain black swan who had a knack for eavesdropping. How could she have been so careless as to talk openly about the truth of their relationship? Anyone could have heard them. Someone did hear them. And of course the one person who does overhear is the person who could ruin it all for them.

Duchess crosses her arms, “What are you even doing this for? Are you and Raven that desperate for attention that you’re pretending to be lesbians? Because that’s seriously the most pathetic thing I’ve ever heard.”

Apple tries to stammer out a response, but nothing comes.

Apple holds herself to some pretty high moral standards, but she’s not above telling the occasional white lie. If she needs to twist the truth a little for things to go more favorably she would do it. So long as nobody found out she was lying.

Apple thinks back to the only other time she’s been caught in a lie. Her mother made the most delectable looking apple crumb cake for her dad’s birthday. She had to run off after it was finished, leaving Apple all alone with the dessert. She was six years old and simply couldn’t resist the temptation. She only meant to take one tiny taste, but that turned into another slightly larger bite, and then another, and eventually she had eaten half the cake.

Of course her mother discovered that someone ate the cake, and when Apple was brought in for questioning, she lied. She said the cat did it. She thought she’d gotten away with her fib, until her mother showed the messy fork and knife right next to the cake. Cats can’t use silverware.

Apple knew she couldn’t get away with this lie anymore, so she started sobbing and confessed her dirty deed to her mother.

Apple’s toughened up over the years, but right now she’s tempted to do the same thing. Give up, quit making excuses Duchess will see right through, and confess her crimes. Hopefully this time she can skip the bawling.

But what would Raven think of her if she did that? Raven would expect her to at least try to defend herself. She can picture Raven now, frowning at her that way she does with her eyes narrowed and lips looking pouty, when she has to explain their whole relationship got wrecked because she couldn’t step up her lying game. Apple can’t fold yet. She has to hold onto this a little bit longer.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really? You’re playing dumb with me?”

“I’m not playing anything. I’m just informing you that whatever you think you heard isn’t true.”

“Then what did I hear then? Huh?”

“I don’t know.”

“It sure sounded like you and Raven talking about how you aren’t a couple.”

“Well it wasn’t.”

Their conversation has started attracting attention from their neighbors. The girls in her class have ears adept at picking up gossip. Ashlynn, who’s sitting two rows in front of her, stops doodling in her notebook to talk to them. “Duchess stop badgering Apple on this. I know you’re upset with Apple, but that doesn’t give you any hexcuse to make up bold faced lies about her.”

Duchess scoffs, “I’m not doing this because I’m upset. I’m doing this because they’re tricking the whole school into thinking they’re dating so they can be more popular. And you’re falling for it! I’m not making this up I heard them talking at the Tea Shoppe before the interview!”

“You couldn’t have heard them. Apple and Raven were with me at The Glass Slipper picking out shoes to wear for their interview.”

“Why would they need new shoes for an interview? Nobody even saw their feet.”

Ashlynn smirks, “A good pair of shoes can boost your confidence tenfold.”

“But- but uggh..” Duchess heaves a loud, exasperated sigh. “Listen, I know what I heard. They’re faking being a couple, and I’ll prove it.”

Ashlynn waves her hand, “Yeah, you do that.”

Duchess pouts, and turns her attention towards the hextbook on her desk.

That certainly could have gone better. Instead of making nice with Duchess, she made things worse. Now that Duchess knows the truth she’s going to have to be more cautious. At least nobody believes her. Apple makes a mental note to thank Ashlynn later.

At that moment Mrs. Her Majesty The White Queen strolls regally into the classroom. “Sorry for the delay dears. I had a few errands I needed to take care of before class started. Thank you all for being patient. Oh and Apple dear, Headmaster Grimm asked me to give this to you.”

Mrs. Her Majesty The White Queen hands her an envelope with her name written on it in a neat cursive. A note from the Headmasters? What could this be about? She opens the envelope, and reads the enclosed message.

“Uh… Mrs. Her Majesty The White Queen, it says I’m supposed to go meet with the Headmasters.”

“Can it wait until after my lesson is over?”

“Well it says immediately.”

“Good, so you can stay! Now let’s get started on today’s topic. Proper hairstyles for every occasion. Who can tell me about when it’s appropriate to wear your hair in a high bun? Yes, Ms. Dancer.”

Apple tries to pay attention, but she’s more curious about what she’s supposed to see the Headmasters for. She hasn’t done anything wrong, so she isn’t getting punished. But it also can’t be an award. They would never interrupt class time for that. Could one of her family members have fallen ill? Surely if something happened at home, someone would have hexted her. She checked her phone during passing period and there were no messages.

When Mrs. Her Majesty The White Queen is running on a tangent on ponytails Apple decides to make a quick getaway. She’s caught up enough in her lecture that she won’t notice her go. Apple brings all of her things with her. The note didn’t say to, but she isn’t sure how long this is going to take.

The Headmasters’ office is just down the hall from her Princessology classroom, so it takes her less than a minute to get there. When she steps inside she sees Raven slumped over in a plush chair, absentmindedly playing with a strand of her hair. She’s glad to see Raven, but she wonders what she’s doing here too. She hopes Raven isn’t in trouble. Unless she’s in trouble because she did something evil. In which case she’s elated.

Headmaster Giles smiles at her. Apple always wants to call him by his last name, but he doesn’t like to be as formal as his brother. It’s probably better that way. Two Headmaster Grimms would get confusing.

“Good afternoon Ms. White. Tea? Cookie?”

She shakes her head. Headmaster Giles pours himself a cup and places two cookies on his saucer.

“Sorry for the delay. Mrs. Her Majesty The White Queen didn’t want to let me leave.”

“That’s alright Apple.” Headmaster Grimm says from behind his desk. “Please take a seat so we can get started.”

Apple sits down in the chair next to Raven. 

Headmaster Grimm looks at her with a stern expression. He always looks a bit stern though, so she’s unsure if she’s in trouble or not. He takes a breath. “My brother and I would like to discuss your recent interview on the school’s Mirrorcast show.”

Oh Grimm they’d seen that? Of course they had. Apple recalls Blondie telling her that The Headmasters always monitor her Mirrorcast show to make sure the content is appropriate. Apple always figured they never really paid much mind to the gossipy parts. Why would they care about that? Surely as Headmasters they had more important concerns than who was dating who. Frankly it felt a little invasive for them to even know so much about their student’s personal affairs. But they’d made their interview available for everyone in the school to watch, and that included the faculty.

Apple clears her throat, “Headmaster Grimm, Giles, I’ve read the school handbook cover to cover, and there’s no rules dictating who students can and can’t date.”

“No no you aren’t in trouble for your uh... relationship. Though I must say I do find it rather concerning.”

Raven frowns and raises an eyebrow, “How so?”

Headmaster Grimm turns his stare towards Apple. Her stomach tightens. “Ms. White, think for a moment what implications your decision might have on certain students. If you choose to behave rebellious others may follow suit, which could lead to total chaos. ”

Apple feels herself sinking lower and lower into her chair. She hates it when Headmaster Grimm guilt trips her like this. She hates herself even more because it works every time.

“I’m not trying to be rebellious. I said on the show I’m still committed to my destiny.” She says in a tiny voice.

“I’m aware, but your recent actions could easily be interpreted as such. As you come from one of Ever After’s most noble families, people look to you as a role model. Is this really what you think is the best way to inspire your people?”

Raven steps in, “Actually the most common thing she keeps hearing is how inspiring she is to not let her destiny get in the way of dating the person she wants. Maybe the problem isn’t Apple, but your old fashioned attitude.”

“Watch your tone Ms. Queen.”

“Milton please. We didn’t bring the girls down here to hassle them.”

Headmaster Grimm sighs loudly, and adjusts his tie. “I suppose you’re right. Let’s get to the point shall we?”

“Oh? And what point might that be?” Raven asks.

“Since you two are romantically linked, we feel it’s best that you don’t share the same dorm room.”

For a brief moment Apple is embarrassed and horrified. The two headmasters of her school, no not just them, the entire school must think she’s doing… risqué things with Raven in their shared room. Apple would never ever even in her wildest dreams do anything of the sort. Her parents had raised her to think that such acts of intimacy should wait until after her happily ever after. Not in high school, and especially not with the girl who’s supposed to be her storybook villain.

But it would be in poor taste to object, so she shyly nods her head. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Good. We’re in agreement here. Ms. Queen, you will be moving into room 161 with Faybelle Thorn. Apple, you will remain in your current room and Bunny Blanc will be moving in with you.”

Raven sputters, “What? You’re just assigning us new roommates? Don’t we at least get to pick who they are?”

Headmaster Grimm frowns at her, “Students are only allowed to select their roommates before the beginning of the school year. Afterwards they can choose from the list of students who have requested a different roommate.”

“Who else is on the list?”

“Just Faybelle and Ms. Blanc.”

“Well, why do I have to be the one to move? If we can’t pick who we live with, can we at least decide who stays and who goes?”

“We selected who moves based on credit hours. Apple has more credits than you, so she gets to keep the room.”

“I don’t believe this.” Raven mutters under her breath.

Raven must be really upset about having to live with Faybelle. Apple would be polite and offer to switch roommates, but she doesn’t want to live with Faybelle either. Last year she lived two doors away from her, and she could still hear Faybelle practicing her cheerhexing. That girl had some serious volume to her.

“Headmaster Grimm, why not let Raven stay where she is? I really don’t mind moving in with Bunny.” She still feels a little bad for Raven. The least she could do is let Raven keep the room.

“Faybelle has more credit hours than Ms. Blanc, and she has requested to stay in her current room. So unless you would like to move in with her.”

“Uh.. no thank you. Sorry Raven.”

Raven sighs, “Whatever, are we done yet?”

“Not quite.” Headmaster Giles says, “We’d like for this move to happen as soon as possible. Do you think you can have your things into your new room by 6 PM tonight? We can provide mover trolls if you need them.”

“Yeah I can do that. The trolls won’t be necessary.”

“Brilliant! Well that’s all I have for you two. Milton, anything to add?”

Headmaster Grimm shakes his head, “You’re free to return to class.”

Apple checks the time on the grandfather clock in their office. The school day ends in five minutes. There’s not really much point in returning to class now. Apple and Raven stand, and head for the door. They’re both about to leave when they hear Headmaster Grimm clear his throat to re-demand their attention.

“Ms. Queen, before you go. We sent your Father a bill for the door you destroyed last weekend. Anymore destruction of property will result in detention.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Big Bad Wolf/Snow White date is supposed to be a Fables reference. I've never actually read Fables though :P
> 
> I'm also going through previous chapters and fixing some mistakes, so look forward to that!
> 
> Comments/Kudos are muy apreciado.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh I'm once again sorry for the delay. If it's any consolation this chapter is over 1000 words longer than all the previous ones.
> 
> Another friendly reminder that events after Spring Unsprung aren't canon in this fic.

Raven isn't usually one to believe in karma, but on days like these, where every awful thing that could possibly happen happens all at once, she can't help but wonder what she did to deserve this.

She's spent most of it on her General Villainy field trip. Which consisted of her wading through the swampy marshland in the Dark Forest to find cursed water beetles. It's going to take at least five showers to get all the mud and muck out of her hair. When she finally gets to school, after listening to Sparrow singing a punk rock version of '99 Bottles of Beer on The Wall' the whole bus ride back, she's immediately summoned to the Headmasters' office. It's there where she's told to pack her things and move in with the girl who has a personal vendetta against her.

At least she got out of History of Evil Spells for the second Friday in a row.

As she climbs the stairs she sends a hext to Maddie to see if she could help with the move. Stuffing her belongings into Maddie's bottomless hat seems a lot easier than carrying everything she owns down four flights of stairs. Then after some internal debate, she sends another hext to Dexter posing the same question. He can help carry some of the heavier things, she justifies. It sounds less pathetic than saying she just really wants to see him.

Their responses come back a few minutes later. Both are happy to help. However, Maddie informs her that she's agreed to help Bunny first. Raven's actually grateful for the delay. It allows her some extra time to pack, and given the current messy state of her room she needs it.

When Raven gets up to her room she puts on some music. Something soft and mellow. Then she searches her closet for her trunk. It has to be in here somewhere. She hasn't needed it since the beginning of the year when she first moved in. She finds it buried under a heap of dirty towels and linens. No wonder the laundry load she brought home last weekend was so light. She left half of it in her closet.

Raven's always found packing to be a chore. She'll start out trying to be nice and neat, but eventually loses her patience at how long it's taking and starts cramming things into her trunk. She can practically hear her Dad's exasperated sigh.

_"You know you're bound to forget something packing like this Rae."_

_"I'm not going to forget anything Dad."_

She always forgot something.

After a while, Raven isn't sure how long it's been, she hears the door open and unmistakable tread of Apple's heels as she enters their room.

"Hey! How were the last five minutes of Princessology?" Raven says over the music. When they left the Headmaster's office Apple insisted on going back to class and apologizing to Mrs. Her Majesty The White Queen for running out mid-lecture.

Apple beams at her, "Hexcellent. We weren't assigned any thronework. How about your last class Sunshine?"

You couldn't pay Raven to go back to History of Evil Spells and apologize to Baba Yaga for missing out on class.

"You know you don't need to use those silly pet names when we're alone."

Apple tries to laugh it off, but her flushed face gives her away, "Sorry Raven."

She goes back to the original question. "I'm not sure if we have thronework. I'll hext Ginger to see what I missed."

"Oh Raven, did you skip out on class? How fairy evil of you." She draws out the word evil for extra emphasis.

"I wasn't trying to be evil." She mumbles just loud enough for Apple to hear. But she pays her no mind. Instead she sashays over to her side of the room and sits down at her vanity. She does a quick inspection of herself in the mirror, then picks up a golden hairbrush and hums along with the music while she runs it through her sun kissed tresses.

Apple's hair is stunning. Straw blonde curls that glisten gold when the light hit them. A waterfall of perfect ringlets that bounce as she moves. Raven loves that bubbly little spring to Apple's hair. When Apple gets giddy with excitement her hair bounces, like it's jumping up and down and celebrating along with her. When she's upset Raven swears the bounce slows down, as though it too is sad and sorrowful. For every emotion Apple has, her curls have a movement to go along with it.

Raven's had this ongoing fantasy where she's the one brushing Apple's hair. At night, as they're both preparing to sleep she crosses over to her side of their room and picks up that golden hairbrush. She would sit down next to Apple on her bed and then ever so delicately run the brush through her soft blonde curls, breathing in the scent of Apple's cherry blossom perfume as she goes.

"Raven?" Apple's holding her hairbrush in mid-air, looking at her with wide, curious eyes.

She snaps out of her hair-induced trance. "Uh… sorry. Just spaced out there for a minute."

Raven looks down at her trunk, which is almost full despite containing barely half the things in her room. She was able to do it at the beginning of the school year. How much stuff had she accumulated?

"I think I'm going to need some hextra boxes." She says.

Apple gets up from her vanity chair. Her curls catch the sunlight streaming in from their windows and she's thinking about Apple's perfect hair again.

"There's probably some in the Royal Student Council supply closet. Do you want me to run and get some for you?" Apple asks.

"No not yet. Let's see if I can cram everything in here first." She wills a small flicker flame of purple energy to appear on her fingertip, "Maybe I can use some magic to pack my trunk."

Apple winces, "That's probably not the best idea. No offense, but you haven't hexactly had the best luck with your magic lately."

"You're probably right. Maybe if I just reorganize things I can get them all to fit." She takes out a few t-shirts from her trunk and refolds them.

Apple picks up one of the shirts. "Let me help you. My mom is a master packer, and she's taught me a thing or two about how to get everything to fit. And how not to get wrinkles."

"Sounds like a useful skill to have." Raven says, and takes out a few more things from her trunk. They fold and reorganize in silence for a few moments. After a while she glances over at Apple, who's staring at her with this soft expression on her face. The one she always gets when she has something she wants to say.

"What's on your mind?"

"I was just thinking, maybe Faybelle can help you a little bit with controlling your magic." Apple says casually as she folds another shirt.

Raven scoffs, "Don't try and force a positive spin on this move, because I so don't want to hear it."

"I wasn't trying to! It's just that Faybelle seems to have her powers under control. Maybe she can give you some advice?"

"I doubt it. You are aware she loathes me right?"

"Oh Raven, loathe is a bit of a hexaggeration, don't you think?"

It wasn't. Faybelle loathed her. Because of what her mother did to Faybelle's, she absolutely positively loathed her.

"Well even if she could be convinced to help me, it wouldn't do much. Our magic doesn't work the same way."

"Really?"

Raven nods, "Faybelle's magic is incantation based. All she has to do is say the right words in the right order and her spells should work fine. As for me, my magic is based on emotion. I need to focus all of my thoughts and feelings onto the spell I want to cast, and that is a lot harder to do than saying a few silly words."

"But you've used spells before haven't you?"

"I do sometimes. But it's more of a way for me to center my emotions than actual need to say the words."

"I guess that makes sense." Apple continues folding clothes, "Well if not magic, maybe Faybelle can help you in other ways."

Raven puts down the pair of jeans she's folding. "What other ways are we talking about?"

"Well, you know, she's one of the most evil people in school, and you-" She pauses.

Raven narrows her eyes. "I what Apple?"

"Don't take this the wrong way Raven, but you're such a good person. Too good I'm concerned about you. If you aren't evil enough to poison me, then what's going to happen to our story? Faybelle can help you with finding your inner Evil Queen. Maybe living with her will teach you a thing or two."

Raven feels a ball of rage boiling inside of her. "If you were concerned about me you would actually listen when I say I'm not following my destiny and I'm not going to be your Evil Queen. Instead you force me to go along with something that I want no part in!"

"We all have to make sacrifices for the sake of destiny Raven. You can't skirt around your responsibilities because you don't want to face up to them."

She lets out a cruel laugh. "For the sake of destiny? Do you listen to yourself when you talk? It's not my responsibility to keep fueling your stupid fantasy."

For a second Apple looks hurt, but an instant later her face is a stone cold glare. "I'm not going to stand here and be the punching bag for your pent up anger."

"You brought this onto yourself by bringing it up."

She huffs, "I'm going to get boxes. I hope when I come back your attitude has changed." Apple's curls do quick, sharp bounces as she walks out the door.

The song on her stereo changes to something loud, fast, and angry. She chucks all the unfolded clothes on her bed into her trunk.

Part of Raven feels bad about hurting Apple feelings, but the dominant, rage-consumed part of her thinks it serves her right. How many times were they going to have this same conversation before the words finally resonate in Apple's pretty little head?

A few minutes later she hears a rhythmic knock on her door. Raven seethes. She doesn't care about the boxes anymore.

"Go away Apple!" She screams as she opens the door. An anger-fueled blast of purple energy streams out of her.

When Raven sees what she's done she feels instantly guilty. It wasn't Apple at the door, but Maddie, Bunny, Alistair, and Dexter. At least she assumes it's them. It's hard to tell since she turned them all into greyhounds.

"Oh my Grimm I am so sorry! Uh… let me fix this." She points her finger and shoots them with her magic. This turns them from greyhounds to golden retrievers. She tries again and transforms them into Dalmatians. Then poodles, beagles, cocker spaniels, corgis. What is going on with her? She's usually not this awful with her spells.

The dog with the teacup hat barks at her for what Raven assumes is encouragement.

Raven tries to remember what Baba Yaga taught her to do when she's caught in a magical hiccup. Take a step back and analyze the situation. Visualize what you need to do to fix your mistake. Then concentrate your energy on casting the spell, and when you're ready let the magic fly.

She takes a shaky breath, focusing all her thoughts onto turning her friends back to normal. She pictures their human faces and bodies in her head. Then she points her index finger again.

Her friends look a little disoriented, and Maddie still has her tongue hanging out of her mouth. But they are back to their regular human bodies.

"You guys I am so sorry about that." She's not sure words can express how much she regrets her magical temper tantrum.

"It's okay Raven." Dexter says, smiling at her. "You know I always wondered what it was like to be a dog."

She smiles sheepishly. "Why don't you come on in?" She gestures towards the door, and her friends step inside.

"I take it you and Apple had a disagreement?" Bunny says as she eyes her new surroundings.

"Yeah." She chooses not to elaborate any further.

"Where is Apple?" Alistair asks.

"She went to get some boxes." She sighs. Her stuff still isn't packed yet. She got most of her clothes in her trunk, but there are still all her knick knacks on her dresser and toiletries on her vanity. She never even got around to clearing her desk, or taking the sheets off her bed.

She doesn't feel like waiting around for Apple to come back with those boxes. In fact, she doesn't really feel like seeing Apple at all. She turns to Maddie. "Is it okay if I just dump my unpacked stuff into your hat?"

"Absolutely. Just try to remember what you put in there so I can find it all."

Maddie digs through her hat for Bunny's things. Her room is soon filled to the brim with stuff. Her stuff. Bunny's stuff. Apple's stuff. Stuff that doesn't belong to any of them. It's enough stuff to make space a little tight.

Once all of Bunny's things are out of the hat, Raven's go in. The smaller trinkets are easy, but the big pieces of furniture require more work. They need to be lifted up and held over Maddie's hat, and somehow through magic they're able to push them in.

Raven fumbles around with her key ring until she pulls her room key off. She hands it to Bunny. "Here. You'll need this more than me."

"Thanks." Bunny gives her room key to her in exchange.

"Do you guys want us to stick around and help you set up?" Dexter asks.

"No, we'll be okay." Alistair says in response. With that, they turn and leave.

The hallway is void of people. Everyone must be outside enjoying the weather. Raven wishes she could be with them instead of moving to her new prison cell.

"I don't mean to pry, but what's going on with you and Apple?" Dexter asks as they walk down the hall.

"Just a stupid argument." Raven rubs her temples, "What was I thinking when I thought dating Apple was a good idea? How were we supposed to get royals and rebels to agree on anything when we can't get along ourselves?"

"It's okay for you two to get into arguments. You don't have to be role models for royal and rebel agreement all the time." Dexter says. He smiles and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but she shrugs it off.

"Yes we do! That was the whole point to our relationship! Trick royals and rebels into getting along by pretending to be girlfriends."

Raven realizes she's said way too much. Her eyes widen and she covers her mouth, "Oops… I wasn't supposed to tell you guys that."

Dexter and Maddie look at her in shock and-

"Hexcuse me, Miss Narrator, I already knew Apple and Raven were fake dating to help the royals and rebels get along. And for the record Raven I think what you're doing is hat-tastic!"

_"Wait what? No, no Maddie you're not supposed to know about that yet. It says right here in my script, 'Dexter and Maddie look at her in shock and confusion.' How do you already know?"_

"Oh I heard you talking about it back in chapter three."

_"You were listening in on the narration? Maddie, we've talked about this. You're a character in the story. You can't listen to me. You're not even supposed to be able to hear me in the first place. You have to stop, okay?"_

"Alright, I won't listen to you at all for the rest of the story."

_"You promise?"_

"I promise."

_"Because you've said that before you know. That you were going to stop listening, but then you break that promise and somehow I start revealing big plot points to you like in chapter seven where Apple and Raven—oh no, you're not going to trick me into spoiling the story."_

"Are you sure you don't want to give me any spoilers?"

_"Yes Maddie."_

"Aww… you're no fun."

Anyway let's get back to the story, where Dexter and Raven are exchanging confused glances at Maddie's conversation with no one.

"Who is she talking to?" Dexter asks.

"Maddie does this sometimes. Just roll with it." Raven assures him. "How is the Narrator doing Maddie?"

"She seems well. A little uppity on spoilers, but that's to be hexpected."

"Good to hear." Raven chuckles to herself. Then her face turns serious once again. "You guys won't tell anyone about me and Apple right?"

"Of course not." Dexter smiles.

Maddie crosses her heart. "Your secret is safe with us."

Raven passes by a stained glass window of a girl holding a cat when a thought occurs to her. Kitty. She can hear the narrators too. What happens if she knows?

"Hey Maddie, if you heard about our relationship through the narrator, do you think Kitty heard it too?"

Maddie rubs her chin, "I suppose it's possible, but I wouldn't worry about it. She doesn't listen to the narrators that often. She thinks they're boring."

The three of them approach Raven's new room. She can hear music blaring inside, bubblegum pop. It's safe to assume Faybelle is in there. She stares at the door for a moment, unsure if she should knock or just barge in.

Raven takes a breath, "Faybelle I'm coming in." She opens the door.

Her new room is noticeably smaller than her old one. She and Apple had the biggest room on campus, so she was expecting this. Still it's a little surprising how much less space she has now. How much less space there is separating her from Faybelle. Raven can't really tell much else about the room on account of how dark it is. There are a few windows, but they're all covered with heavy, teal curtains. Right now the only light comes from a lamp by Faybelle's bed. Where she sits reading a fashion magazine.

"Oh it's you." Faybelle waves an uninterested hand and doesn't look up from her magazine. "Just put your stuff wherever as long as it doesn't touch mine."

Most of Faybelle's stuff is on one side of the room, but a few things have overflown onto her side. Not things strewn over there in an accidental way. Things purposefully placed there. She's been there less than a minute and Faybelle is already claiming dominance on their shared space.

"Where should I set all your things?" Maddie asks. Her voiced is raised to be heard over the music.

"Anywhere over there is fine." She makes a vague hand gesture towards the windowed wall.

Maddie starts fishing through the sea of items in her teacup hat. First the bigger pieces of furniture. Her bed, her desk, her vanity. Then the smaller things. Watching Maddie unpack is like watching those phony street magicians with the infinite string of handkerchiefs up their sleeve. She just keeps pulling and pulling things out for an almost comical amount of time.

"Can you guys keep it down?" Faybelle yells from her bed. Her music is making more noise than they are.

"Well that's everything." Maddie shakes her teacup hat upside down to further emphasize that point.

Dexter and Maddie help her rearrange the heavy things. She sets up her furniture nearly identical to her old room. They both offer to help with the rest, but she turns them down. She can do it on her own.

Raven can barely see in this darkness, so she goes to draw the curtains. When hands meet the fabric she feels dust, as if nobody has touched them in weeks.

Faybelle groans, "Hey, close the curtains. It's too bright in here."

"Really? Because it's so dark I'm tripping over my feet over here." Raven glares at her. It seems nobody has touched these drapes in weeks. Faybelle likes the room dark. Well, Faybelle is going to have to get over herself. Raven steps over to the next covered window, and opens the curtains. She can send a torrent of dust particles floating into the air.

_"Girl with eyes and hair like grapes! Stop what you're doing! Close those drapes!"_

Raven tries to fight Faybelle's hex, but her magic is too strong.

This is ridiculous. It's the middle of the afternoon and she has to use the flashlight app on her MirrorPhone to see what she's doing. With her new source of light she finds there are a few things missing. Nothing too important. She can live without her purple rain boots and snow globe from Sherwood Forest for a while.

She makes a pile of things that aren't hers. Most of it she isn't sure where it came from. It's just the random things Maddie accumulates in her hat. A set of Newton balls and a jumbo jar of dill pickles. She'll return them to her later on. One of the items is recognizable though. A golden hairbrush.

She kicks it under her bed.

Raven unpacks her trunk, placing things where they go. Her photo frames on her dresser. Her books on her desk. Her makeup in her vanity. When she goes to hang her clothes up in the closet she groans. Inside are some dark, sparkly dresses that could only belong to one person.

"Hey Faybelle, some of your clothes are in my closet."

"Yeah I know I put them there."

"Well where am I supposed to put my clothes?"

"You have a dresser. Put them there."

Raven frowns. She's not going to let Faybelle walk all over her. She takes the clothes out of her closet, storms over to Faybelle, and dumps them all into a heap on her bed, "What the hex are you doing? I told you not to touch my stuff!"

"Faybelle I'm trying to be nice about this. Really I am. If you want to have some of your furniture on my side of the room, fine. If you like the room dark enough to ruin your eyesight, whatever after. But keep your clothes in your own closet."

Faybelle rolls her eyes at her, "Bunny never made a big deal when I used her closet."

"Well if you liked living with Bunny so much why did you request a new roommate?"

"I didn't request a new roommate. I requested that Bunny move out so I would have my single back. Instead I get stuck with you."

Raven leaves the clothes on Faybelle's bed, and huffs back over to her side of the room. She continues unpacking her things until she's gotten just about everything in its place. It's still too early for dinner in the Castleteria, so Raven opens up her laptop and watches some Spellested Development to pass the time.

"Hey so when you and Apple break up, are you going to move back in with her?" From her tone Raven can't tell if Faybelle's being mean, or is genuinely curious. When Raven looks up she sees the clothes still in a heap on her bed.

"Uh… we haven't thought that far ahead yet."

"Well you should probably start thinking about it."

Raven recalls what she said during their interview, "I know you don't have the most favorable view of our relationship, but we are committed to each other." The word committed comes out strained. She hopes Faybelle doesn't notice.

Faybelle smirks at her, "Please. You know it's only a matter of time before you two break it off. In fact I'm surprised Miss 'I'm so committed to my destiny' even wanted to date you in the first place. How much you want to bet she'll say you bewitched her into dating you? And that she's actually straight? And then finally make it official with Daring to further emphasize that she's actually straight?"

Raven decides to ignore her the rest of the evening. Maybe if she pretends hard enough she'll actually disappear.

Raven discovers that night that Faybelle talks in her sleep. No, she doesn't talk. She cheerhexes. Around midnight a loud chant startles her awake. There are objects floating around the room enveloped in her signature blue glow. Raven rubs her eyes to make sure she's not seeing things. She tries to go back to sleep, but this sleep-cheer hexing keeps happening. A few of those floating objects come close to hitting her. It makes her wonder if Faybelle is somehow in control of this.

At five AM Faybelle's alarm blares. Raven groans. She's heard of morning people, but who in their right mind wakes up this early on a Saturday?

"Faybelle what are you doing up at this hour?" Raven asks groggily.

"Cheerhexing practice. Duh. We start at dawn."

Faybelle gets ready for practice in the noisiest way possible. She stomps around the room. She clangs bottles and containers together as she styles her hair. She curses loudly when she stubs her toe on the corner of her bed. Raven wonders if she's doing this on purpose to annoy her, or if she really is that inconsiderate.

Apple was always up before her. Never as early as five AM, but she wasn't one to sleep in. Apple got ready quietly. Tiptoeing around so she wouldn't wake her sleeping roommate. She was courteous and thoughtful and kind and-

Raven shakes the thought of Apple from her mind.

When Faybelle is about to leave she says to her. "You know you talk in your sleep right?"

Faybelle stares at her like she's grown a second head, "What? No I don't." Then she slams the door so loud it has to be intentional.

Raven sends Farrah a hext asking when cheer practice is over. She gets a response saying 'whenever Faybelle says it is, but probably around six.'

Good. She'll have the room to herself for most of the day. She takes great pleasure in opening all of the curtains and basking in the warm glow of the sun.

Sunday she isn't so lucky. Faybelle doesn't have any plans, so she's staying in and listening to her terrible bubblegum pop music. Even though there's no practice she's still up before seven. Why is she cursed to live with early risers?

Raven isn't going to spend the whole day cooped up in a room with Faybelle, so she packs her bag and heads out. First to the lifairy, then the grimmnasium, then the student lounge, and finally she finishes off her day at the Hocus Latte in Bookend.

She picks a cozy corner in the back of the café where she won't be disturbed by the other restaurant patrons. When she checks her phone she sees another missed hext from Apple. She's sent her three so far this weekend. All three of them went ignored. She decides she's cooled off enough to read them.

Sent Friday at 4:04 PM

_Hey Raven, I'm really sorry about what I said. I didn't mean to upset you. I have some really important news. Call me back when you get a chance okay?_

Sent Yesterday at 10:44 AM

_Please call me Raven. We really need to talk._

Sent today at 3:32 PM

_I miss you. Call me please?_

With that last one she includes a string of purple heart emojis.

As she's putting her phone back into her bag someone approaches her.

"Hey Raven, have you seen Apple?"

"No. How should I know where she is? We're dating, not joined at the hip. I don't follow her every single move." She seethes. Then she looks up to see Briar's flummoxed face.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Sorry Briar. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just been one hex of a weekend."

"Say no more. I heard you had to move in with Faybelle. How's that working out?" Briar makes herself comfortable in the plush armchair next to her.

"It's lousy."

She chuckles softly, "Believe me I understand. I've been dealing with Faybelle's eh… antics for way too long now."

"Did you know she cheerhexes in her sleep?"

"What? No wonder you look so tired. If you ever need a break from her my door's always open. I'm sure Ashlynn won't mind."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." She smiles, and finishes the last drink of her hot chocolate. "Why were you looking for Apple?"

"Oh she sent me a hext earlier asking if we could meet up, but I was kind of..." She closes her eyes and pantomimes herself snoring, "So I missed her message. I feel bad about it. She sounded kind of down. You have any idea why?"

"I think I might." She hesitates a moment, but figures there's no harm in telling Briar so long as she doesn't slip up like she did with Maddie and Dexter. "Apple and I got into an argument."

"Oh no. Do you want to talk about it?" Briar's face is full of sympathy and concern.

"It's just the same argument we've been having since Legacy Day. She wants me to follow destiny, and I want to forge my own path."

Briar clicks her tongue. "Oh that argument."

"I just wish I could make her understand why I and so many other people don't want to follow their destiny. I know her story has its hardships, but in the end everything works out for her. She gets her prince and her kingdom and lives happily ever after and blah blah blah yada yada yada. But me? I have to sacrifice so much more. When everything is said and done I'll probably end up in a jail cell for the rest of my life."

"I know what you mean. I know my story ends nicely, but I don't wake up for 100 years and by then all my friends will be-" Briar doesn't finish her sentence.

Raven's noticed a change in Briar. She used to be so like much Apple with their identical royal mindsets. Now the full weight of her destiny seems to have hit her. Her party girl façade is crumbling fast.

"Following your destiny is easier said than done sometimes."

She gives her a shaky, understanding smile. "She's trying to look out for you. For all of us, but especially for you. She truly believes that if you don't do as destiny says you'll disappear forever. She loves you way too much to let that happen."

"To be honest, I'm starting to think the whole disappearing thing is something Headmaster Grimm made up." She's never told anyone that before, but she doesn't think Briar would hold her suspicion against her.

Briar sighs. "Yeah me too. But we don't have any real proof of that."

"Except that we all know how manipulative Headmaster Grimm can be."

"That wouldn't be enough to convince Apple. She thinks leaders are going to use their power and influence for good. Not further their own messed up agenda with it."

"How can she be so naïve?"

"I wouldn't call it naivety. She knows there are bad people that do bad things. It's more like hopeful optimism. She believes that people are genuinely good and will do the right thing."

As she says it her phone vibrates. Briar looks down to check the message.

"Is that Apple?" Raven asks.

"No, it's my cousin. I forgot we're having dinner together at Not-So-Little Jack Horner's new restaurant. Want to come with us?"

She shakes her head, "I should probably head back to campus."

Briar gets out of her chair, "I hope you two can work around your issues. When you're not arguing about destiny you two are good for each other."

Raven sits in her corner a little while longer before heading back.

That night Raven retrieves the golden hairbrush she kicked under the bed, and turns it over and over again in her hands. She thinks about Apple. Her hopefully optimistic Apple with hair the color of sunshine. She thinks she understands her a little better thanks to Briar. Apple isn't trying to be controlling, but protective. Then again, Raven isn't trying to be rebellious, she just wants some freedom for once in her life. They certainly had their work cut out for them.

Still, when she looks back on what she said she knows she was definitely too harsh on her. She'll apologize for that. It's the least she can do.

Faybelle shouts at her from across the room, "Hey lovebird, you've been staring at that hairbrush for an hour. You're not going to start getting creepy with it are you?"

She's actually a little embarrassed by Faybelle's comment. She picks up her phone and sends Apple a message. It's about time she hexted her back.

Sent Today at 9:42 PM

_Night Apple. I'll talk to you tomorrow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to insert as many Ever After versions of my favorite TV shows into this fic as possible.
> 
> Hope you don't mind the fourth wall break. What was the narrator teasing in chapter 7?? You'll see :)
> 
> Kudos and comments make my day! So let me know your thoughts!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters just keep getting longer and longer.
> 
> Yikes sorry about it taking decades for me to update. I spent a lot of time working in November sort of kind of for NaNoWriMo, but it caused me to lose steam in December. Anyways, I've got the story 90% planned out, and I'm expecting it to be 14 chapters total. Chapters 7 and 8 are mostly written and will take significantly less time to update. Chapters 9 and beyond are in various states of readiness though, and may take longer. This is a really ambitious project for me but I'm real excited regardless!
> 
> I also might take a break at some point to write something else Poison Apple but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Conflict resolution is an essential skill for any future ruler to have. That's why her Kingdom Management class spent an entire month covering how to handle everything from border disputes between kingdoms to disagreements between the castle staff. Apple, being the model student she is, was quick to pick up on the lessons. She aced the hexam, and Professor Solomon, her Kingdom Management teacher, remarked that her essay on compromise was one of the best he'd ever read.

Needless to say she's perplexed on why it's so colossally difficult to make up with Raven.

Her first instinct is to apologize to Raven immediately. She hadn't meant to anger her. It was just a side effect of bringing up the one topic they simply cannot agree on. It was completely taboo to talk about destiny because it always ended like this. Yet she brought it up anyway because she thought, or hoped rather, that her attitude might have changed. She knew exactly what buttons to push to irritate Raven, and like a curious child in an elevator she pushed them all to see what would happen. She got a reaction. Just not the one she hoped for.

Then she feels angry at herself for being so quick to make nice. She shouldn't be the one doing the apologizing. She should be the one getting apologized to. The tone Raven took at her was completely disrespectful. She had no right to berate her like that for simply speaking her mind. If she didn't like her idea she could have just said so, and they both could have moved on.

After mulling both sides over, she decides the best thing to do was to not do anything at all. Or the silent treatment. Put a little bit of distance between them so this whole thing can blow over. The best way to deal with a hothead like Raven is to let her cool off. Apple had already run her mouth enough to anger her. If she said anything more she could end up making the whole situation worse.

And maybe she needs a little time to cool off too. Raven wasn't the only one who got heated by their argument.

Doing nothing proves to be more difficult than she anticipated. She hates leaving their bad feelings untouched. She's a doer. Her natural instinct when she sees conflict is to take action. It's like having an enormous pimple. She knows she has to wait for it to go away because popping it might leave a scar. But every time she sees it in her reflection her fingers twitch.

Apple's glad she has mostly clear skin.

She slips up three times in the form of three hext messages. She doesn't get a response. Which is what she expected, but still disappointing. Every time her phone chimed she let herself get hopeful, only to quickly be let down.

She decides she needs to come up with something else productive in resolving the argument that isn't talking to Raven. And she does. She spends her weekend on a very special project that will hopefully bring a smile to Raven's face. And looking at Raven's MirrorBook profile. Solely to see how she is doing. Not because she wants to stare at her gorgeous, gorgeous smile.

On Monday morning she gets the response she's been waiting for all weekend. Raven is ready to talk to her. She reads the message on her phone and feels herself swell with warmth and happiness. Raven is speaking to her again, and everything is going to be okay.

"Are you always this perky in the morning?" Her new roommate Bunny asks her curiously. She's watching her as she hums a happy tune and slips on her peach kitten heels.

"Only when I have something to look forward to."

They agree to meet up by Apple's locker before breakfast. Apple arrives early, and busies herself with cleaning her already immaculate locker while watching for Raven to walk down the hall without looking like she's watching for her. When she spots Raven coming toward her in her locker mirror her heart starts racing. She worries the whole school can hear it.

"Hey." Raven says. Instinctively she breaks out into a grin. How can one simple word make her feel like she's floating in the clouds? Apple puts down the book she was holding and turns to face her.

The corners of her lips are curled downward in a faint frown, and her eyes are fixed away on the pictures in her locker. She's holding a purple thermos in one hand. She can smell the hot coffee inside. Raven only carries around that thermos when she needs the extra caffeine boost. Judging from those dark eyes and the extra amount of concealer she's caked on underneath them, she probably didn't sleep well last night.

"Hi Raven." She says a few octaves too high. She clears her throat. "How was your weekend?"

Finally she turns to look at her. She gives a half-hearted shrug. "It wasn't bad. I mostly spent it avoiding Faybelle."

Apple chuckles lightly. She's surprised Raven would even mention Faybelle given their argument. She takes it as a good sign.

Raven starts digging through her messenger bag with her free hand. "Oh by the way I have something of yours. It got mixed in with my things during the move." Her hand emerges from the bag with a golden hairbrush in tow.

"Thanks Raven! I've been looking all over for this!" She takes the brush and uses the mirror in her locker to tease out some of the tangles in her hair. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Raven in the mirror, watching her as she goes. She can't quite read her glassy expression, so she guesses it's impatience with her vanity. She stops and places the brush into her locker.

"Sorry."

"No you're fine." Raven looks away quickly from her and takes a sip from her thermos.

"There's a few of your things leftover in our old room. Let me know when you want to swing by to pick them up. And um… I have something for you too."

She raises an eyebrow. "What's that?"

She giggles nervously. Now it's time to see if all the hard work she put into her special project paid off.

"It's kind of silly, but I got the idea from my parents. When they get into arguments, they apologize to each other by making gifts. So I made you a little something."

She adores the little romantic gestures her parents do. The apology gift is one of her favorites. When she was younger she couldn't wait to grow up and have somebody to share them with. She's the right age now, but she's never had a person to make one for. It seemed too intimate of a gesture to do with friends, and she rarely got into arguments with them anyway. It feels appropriate to share with Raven. Even though they aren't actually girlfriends. They have a strong bond that's different from her other friends. She can't really put a finger on why it's different, but it is.

Apple takes the neatly wrapped package out of her locker, and gives it to Raven. Raven hands her the still warm coffee thermos so she can unwrap it properly. She tears off the delicate gold paper to reveal the present inside.

She made Raven a scarf with powder blue and plum yarn speckled with streaks of shiny silver. She had meant it to be simple, but as the project progressed she started adding in different patterns in the yarn. If she'd had more time she would've added in a matching hat. Perhaps she'll do that another day. They do tend to have a lot of petty arguments.

Raven studies the scarf, running her hands over the soft yarn. Her features unravel themselves from that sleepy frown into a look of awe. "Wow. I don't know what to say. Thank you. I'll be sure to wear it when the weather gets cold. And I'll make something for you too."

Apple smiles shyly. "Oh no, you don't have to do that."

"It's only fair. You made this for me."

"But you didn't even know about my parent's silly little tradition."

"But I like it, and I want to return the favor."

"Okay but you don't have to put too much effort into it. I'm really not that fussy."

Raven laughs. "You? Not that fussy?"

She blushes. Okay, so maybe she can be a little fussy sometimes. But certainly not over a handmade present from someone she really cares about.

Apple takes a breath. "So now that that's out of the way, I wanted to say that I'm really sorry about Friday. I didn't mean to upset you, but looking back on what I said I can see how it would. I should have been more sensitive to how you feel about Faybelle and about destiny. I promise that in the future I'll be more considerate when we talk about things we have different views on."

When she wasn't knitting or stalking Raven's profile this weekend, she was practicing her apology. She wanted to know exactly what she wanted to say ahead of time, and she rehearsed in her mirror. During her conflict resolution unit she learned that a proper apology had three parts. Step one: admit that you did wrong. Step two: show that you understand why it was wrong. Step three: explain how you'll keep from doing wrong again.

"I'm sorry too Apple. I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did. That was wrong." Apple notes the wording of her apology. Raven didn't apologize for what she said, only how she said it. Which most likely means she doesn't think what she said was wrong, and that she didn't learn anything from their falling out. Still, Apple can tell it's a sincere apology. She's grateful for that much.

"So are we going to be okay?"

"Of course."

Raven smiles at her and stretches out her arms. Apple sets down the thermos in her locker so she can properly return the hug. They wrap their arms around each other. Raven rests her chin on her shoulder, and Apple can feel her soft skin brush against her cheek. Apple closes her eyes and feels herself relaxing into Raven's embrace. Then it's over. Raven is pulling away, and Apple finds herself not wanting to let go.

Once they've separate she wonders why she feels this way. Why is being close to Raven so important to her? Why did that moment feel so perfect? She's had these intrusive thoughts for a while, but ever since they started 'dating' they've been popping up like weeds, and Apple is the overwhelmed gardener. She can't make them go away.

"So did you want to get breakfast?" Raven asks.

"Huh?" Apple's brain is still a little foggy. Raven has this effect on her. Whenever she's around everything else becomes background noise. Then she snaps back into reality, and remembers something else very important she needs to warn Raven about.

Duchess.

She clasps her hands over her mouth. "Oh my Grimm! I'm such a fool. I completely forgot!"

Raven looks at her in both confusion and concern. "Forgot about what? Apple what is it?"

She looks around. Dozens of students are milling about the halls, talking as they head to the Castleteria. They might be overheard here. She takes Raven by the wrist and leads her down the hallway. Raven mutters something about her coffee, but Apple doesn't turn around. She stops in front of the chemythstry lab and pokes her head inside to check if it's empty. When she's sure they're alone they step inside. Apple locks the door sharply behind her. Before she speaks she does one final glance around the room to be completely sure what she's about to say won't be overheard.

She turns to Raven. "Duchess knows the truth about our relationship."

"The truth?" Raven sounds puzzled, then her eyes widen. "You mean she knows that we're-"

"Yes she knows about that." She cuts Raven off with a sharp whisper. Even here, where they are certain not to be heard she still isn't comfortable listening to those words said aloud.

"How did she find out?"

Apple's face falters. "She overheard us talking about it in the bathroom at the Wonderland Haberdashery and Tea Shoppe on the day of the interview. I'm really sorry I should have been more careful."

"Hey don't' blame yourself for this. It's just as much my fault as it is yours."

Apple smiles meekly. "Fortunately for us no one believes her, but we have to be hextra careful now. We can't let anyone else find out, or our cover could be blown."

Raven bites her lip, and stares down at the floor. "Yeah… about that. I kinda told Maddie and Dexter about us. Sorry."

Apple's taken aback by this. She assumed that they weren't going to tell anyone about the secret of their relationship. Including their friends. It's not that they can't trust them, but the more people who are in on a secret the harder it is to keep. Besides, their friends weren't exactly neutral on the royal and rebel debate. They're benefitting from their ruse just as much as everyone else.

"Oh uh… that's okay I guess. You're sure they won't tell anyone right?"

"Of course not! And I wasn't planning on telling them. It just kind of slipped out. I didn't even have to tell Maddie. She already knew."

"How?" Apple asks, alarmed.

"She overheard the Narrator talking about it. Which reminds me… since Kitty can hear the Narrator too it's possible she knows as well."

Apple wants to collapse on the floor and lay there for a while. The world is just too overwhelming to deal with right now. She hides her face in her hands and shakes her head. "We're doomed. We are so doomed. The whole school is going to know about us by lunchtime."

Raven puts an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, don't freak out Apple. I'm not saying she definitely knows about us. I'm just saying there's a possibility. Maddie says she doesn't even listen to the Narrator very often, so in all likelihood she doesn't know."

"But what if she does? What's going to happen?"

"Well I doubt she'd blab about it to the whole school. She likes to mess with people, but she would never actually ruin our lives. She's mischievous, not evil."

Apple's not sure if it's the words or the arm, but she does somehow feel assured that everything is going to be okay. As long as she has Raven she's going to be okay.

"So you were saying something about breakfast earlier?" She smiles up at Raven meekly.

Raven smiles back. "Yeah. Let's go get something to eat. I woke up this morning craving the Castleteria's chocolate chip pancakes."

When they leave the chemythstry lab together hand-in-hand Blondie is walking down the hallway with her MirrorPhone in one hand and a bowl of porridge in the other. She flashes a coy smile their way.

"Sneaking around in empty classrooms and janitor closets I see."

Apple feels her face heat up. Maybe if she gets hot enough she'll evaporate and never have to face Blondie again.

Apple hopes to Grimm that she won't report on their little run in in the hallway. She doesn't, to which she is eternally grateful. If anyone, especially the Headmasters, saw that in the report she's pretty sure she would have died of embarrassment.

She doesn't see Blondie again until lunch the next day. She's at a table with Raven, Dexter, and Cedar. She notes with pride the healthy mixture of royals and rebels. Blondie waves her over, but she politely shakes her head. Though she's almost tempted to sit with them, just so she can squeeze herself between Dexter and Raven. Something about those familiar doe-eyed glances Dexter keeps giving Raven and how their shoulders are so close they're practically touching makes her stomach churn.

She's still thinking about it when she takes a seat at a table on the upper level of the castleteria with Briar and Ashlynn. Hopefully they can take her mind off of whatever it was that made her so uncomfortable.

"Hey girls." She says as she places her lunch tray down on the circular table. They both beam at her. It's been a while since they've all sat down and enjoyed each other's company. She's just been so busy with her own drama she hasn't had time for much else.

"Ashlynn, thanks again for what you said to Duchess on Friday." She says before opening up her can of caffeine free Hexi.

Ashlynn waves a hand at her. "It was nothing Apple. I know how Duchess can be. I wasn't going to let her spread lies about my best friend forever after."

Apple bites her lip and looks down at her bag of potato chips with great interest. Cue that guilty feeling in her gut. She hates that she's lying to them. These two girls are her best friends, she's supposed to tell them everything. But she's keeping an enormous secret from both of them.

Her guilt goes overlooked by Briar. "So Apple, where were you this weekend? Ash and I were trying to get ahold of you, but didn't get an answer."

"Sorry. I kind of got carried away with a... project. What did I miss?"

The two of them launch into the tale of how they snuck into the Grimmnasium to on Saturday watch the cheerhexing squad practice. Faybelle wasn't aware of their presence, but the rest of the squad knew they were lurking around mischievously in the bleachers. They were all in stitches watching the two of them avoided getting caught.

"And then when practice was over Hunter, Briar, and I went out for ice cream."

"You should have been there to keep me from being a third wheel." Briar pokes her on the shoulder with a carrot stick.

"Oh Briar you weren't a third wheel."

"Ash, you and Hunter ordered a sundae for two and shared a spoon!"

"We offered you a taste."

"Yeah, after you were finished gazing into each other's eyes." Briar turns to her. "I swear if you and Raven are that disgustingly cute when we hang out I'm going to find new friends."

"Oh right! Now instead of a third wheel you'll be a fifth wheel!" Ashlynn laughs.

Apple pictures what it would be like to go on a romantic double date with Raven. She tries and fails to suppress a smile.

"Or we could make it a triple date. I bet Hopper would be thrilled to take you out."

Briar purses her lips at her for a few seconds, then relaxes. "Well if you're talking about going on double dates I take it everything's cool between you and Raven? I talked to her over the weekend and she said you two got into an argument."

"Oh no what happened?" Ashlynn asks.

Apple briefly explains to Ashlynn what happened on Friday. "But it's okay. We both apologized yesterday and we're getting along just fine now."

"I'm glad everything worked out happily ever after in the end." Ashlynn says.

"If it didn't I would've forced you guys to kiss and make up. As your best friend forever after it's my sworn duty to keep you two together." Apple can't tell if Briar's joking or not. She's not sure what to say in response, so she takes a bite into her ham and cheese sandwich.

It's quiet between them for a few minutes. The only noises come from their carrot sticks and potato chips. A few times it looks as though Ashlynn or Briar are about to speak, but they quickly close their mouths.

"So were you shocked when you found out about me and Raven?" She says after she can't stand the silence anymore. "It was so completely unhexpected, right?"

Briar and Ashlynn turn to look at each other, both wearing identical smirks. Apple stares at them in confusion.

Ashlynn looks at her and smiles gently. "Sweetie, we're your best friends. Did you think we didn't see what was going on?"

"Uh…" Now she's even more confused, and her stomach suddenly feels very heavy.

Briar places a hand delicately on her shoulder. "We didn't want to pressure you to tell us before you were ready, so we never said anything. But we could sense your feelings for Raven were a little bit more than friendly."

Apple almost chokes on her sandwich.

Her feelings for Raven are more than friendly? This is news to her.

She wants to deny it. Because it most definitely is not true. But doing so would completely contradict the fact that they are currently 'dating'. If only she could just be honest with them.

"What made you think I had feelings for Raven?" She needs to know where her friends would get such a crazy idea.

Ashlynn starts. "Well you never seemed that interested in boys. Even Daring. You like him well enough, but we never got the feeling that you were attracted to him."

"But you were really friendly with Raven." Briar continues. "Way more than you needed to be. I know she's a big part of your story and all, but come on now. You were always looking for reasons to talk to her or be around her, and you were way more touchy-feely with her than anyone else."

"So Briar and I put two and two together, and last week our suspicions were confirmed."

Apple blinks, trying to take all of this in. Sure, she's never had a real crush on a boy, and she's friendly with Raven, but that didn't mean she liked her like that.

Did it?

"I hope you're not mad at us." Briar says to her.

"Of course." Shocked perhaps, but not mad.

The conversation moves along to the bookball party Briar's hosting Friday night. Briar and Ashlynn happily discuss their plans, and she listens along half-heartedly. She tries to pay attention, but she's too busy digesting the information she's just heard.

The rest of the day passes as one giant blur. She goes from class to class not really paying attention to what her Professors are saying. She barely speaks at debate team practice because her mind is somewhere else. Her thoughts are still wrapped around that conversation as she gets ready for bed. Instead of brushing her hair like she normally does, she sits at her vanity staring blankly at her reflection.

"Something on your mind? You seem a hare distracted." Bunny asks from her side of the room.

"No." She says quickly, then reconsiders her answer. "Actually yes. There is."

"What's up?" She asks while she sets up one of the half dozen alarm clocks sitting on her brass nightstand. Apple's not sure why she bothers with them. Whether it's by luck or by magic or one hex of an internal clock, she's always on time no matter what.

Apple thinks for a minute, trying to find the best way to phrase what's been circling her mind all day. "Have I ever given off the impression that I'm gay?"

Bunny stifles a laugh. "You're dating Raven. That seems pretty gay to me."

"No, I mean before that."

She shrugs. "I only knew you for a few weeks before you guys started dating. I'm probably not the best person to ask."

"Oh. Right." She says, a little embarrassed at herself. Why is she asking Bunny about this? Why is she even having this conversation?

She's about to shut off her desk lamp and climb into bed when Bunny clears her throat.

"But um… there was one thing." She says quietly.

"What's that?"

"Well…" She starts slowly. "Back at The Spring Fairest. You were acting a little bit clingy towards Alistair and I got a little jea- I mean I wondered if you could possibly be interested in him."

"Me and Alistair?" She laughs. He was a charming enough boy, but she never harbored any romantic feelings toward him. Even if he wasn't completely and obviously enamored by Bunny, he wasn't her type. Which doesn't mean her type is girls, as her two best friends seem to believe.

"I know you aren't now, but when we first met I wasn't so sure. So I asked Lizzie what she thought. And she said." Bunny chuckles softly to herself. "Keep in mind these are her words not mine. Lizzie said that you were so far in the closet for Raven you didn't even know you were there."

"Oh." Blood rushes to her cheeks. Lately she seems to be a blushing mess.

"So I started paying more attention to how you acted around Raven, and from watching you a little bit, I could kind of see what she meant. You and Raven had this connection that seemed to go beyond friendship."

Apple wants her to elaborate on what this connection is, but before she can ask Bunny has her lights off.

Apple tosses and turns in her bed, unable to find a comfortable position. This whole day has been one shocking surprise after another. The girls who know her better than anyone think she has feelings for Raven. The girl who barely knows her thinks she has feelings for Raven. Who else might think she has feelings for Raven?

Are they right?

After a while her brain finally gets exhausted from thinking, and she drifts off into sleep. She has that same dream again. The one where she and Raven are cuddled up together in the bleachers. She's had it almost every night since they started their fake relationship. Before she wasn't sure what her subconscious was trying to tell her. Now she has an explanation, but she doesn't like it.

The next day she doesn't see Raven until midway through the morning. She's waiting next to her locker with her purple thermos in one hand (Apple had returned it yesterday), and what looks like sheet music in the other. She forces her face into something neutral so Raven won't suspect that anything is different. She'd rather leave Raven out of the internal conflict she's going through.

"Off to muse-ic class Songbird?" Songbird was her pet name for the day.

She nods. "I'm working on a top-secret project, so don't ask about it."

Apple tries to catch a glance of what's on her sheet music. Raven notices, and quickly places her hand behind her back.

"No sneak peeks." She says it resolutely, but there's a pleased smile on her face.

"You should get going then. Isn't the muse-ic classroom on the other side of the school?"

"Yeah, but I have some important information for you," She drops her voice to a low murmur, "regarding the thing we talked about on Monday in the chemythstry lab."

"What's that?"

"Maddie talked to Kitty to see if she knows about us."

"And?"

Raven frowns. "She's not sure."

She sighs. "Well that's lovely."

Kitty and Lizzie are best friends, so she wonders for a moment if Lizzie could have shared that crackpot theory about her crushing on Raven. Would Kitty have believed her as Bunny did? What in Ever After would she make of her having real feelings for Raven while being in a fake relationship with her?

Not that she has real feelings for Raven. She absolutely does not.

"Maybe we should just talk to Kitty ourselves." She suggests.

Raven shakes her head. "I don't want to tip her off. Kitty can be pretty perceptive."

"So what's your plan then? Wait around until she outs it to everyone?"

"Look, if Kitty knew something she'd be holding it over our heads by now. But she's not treating us any differently than normal, so I don't think we have anything to worry about."

Raven is standing just a few inches away. Apple stares at her without meaning to. Her eyes. She's always thought they were purple, but she can see now that they're actually bright lavender. They absolutely pop today thanks to the shimmery turquoise eye shadow she's wearing to match her topaz necklace. Gosh, has she always been this pretty?

The rational part of her brain quickly kicks in and reminds her that she does not have a crush on Raven Queen.

She slams her locker door shut, barely missing her fingers.

"Uh... I have to get to class."

"Okay. I'll see you at lunch." Raven calls after her as she moves as quickly as she can without looking like she's running.

When she gets to class she refocuses her thoughts onto the day's lesson. It was a big day in Damsel in Distressing. They were finally going to talk about witches and what to do when you're captured by one. They'd already gone over ogres, trolls, and giants, which were interesting but had very little to do with her story. She's eager to get going.

She takes her seat in the front row, waiting in anticipation for the beginning of the lesson. She has her notebook out and pen in her hand ready to go when Maid Marian makes an announcement.

"Before we begin, I've been asked to send a few volunteers over to Advanced Wooing class to help with their hexam."

The whole class breaks out into excited giggles and chatter. Apple rolls her eyes and sighs. Advanced Wooing is always in need of female volunteers. And since Damsel-in-Distressing just so happens to be the same period, there's a whole class full of girls eager to help. She though finds it a bit annoying. As much as she would like to assist the boys, her own education has to come first. She is a future queen after all.

"Lizzie, Cerise, Duchess, Poppy, and Apple. Gather your things and head down to the Advanced Wooing classroom. The rest of you open your hextbooks to page 394, and we'll discuss the reading from last night."

"Oh you're so lucky Apple." Holly says to her dreamily as she stands to go. Funny, she doesn't feel that lucky. She feels irritated that her education is being interrupted. She was so looking forward to today's lesson. She'd gladly trade places with Holly if Madam Maid Marian would allow it. But she doesn't ask. She feels like she has something to prove. By surrounding herself by princes at their most charming maybe she can put her inner woes about Raven to bed.

"Ugh... I am so glad to be out of Damsel-in-Distressing." Poppy says once they've shut the door behind them. "Anything is better than that snooze-fest. I can think of a hundred things more important than learning how to be demure and helpless."

"You said it sister." Cerise says and fist bumps Poppy. Apple wants to lecture them both on the importance of Damsel-in-Distressing (it wouldn't be the first time she's had to defend the class), but she feels her words would be lost on them.

"I wonder what today's test is on?" Poppy asks.

"Hopefully not cooking." Lizzie says, making a disgusted face. "Sparrow and Dexter were in my Cooking Class-ic class last semester. Both of them could burn water. I imagine the rest aren't much better."

"Some of the guys were complaining about the hexam at Bookball practice yesterday." Cerise says. "But I didn't catch what it was about. Just that Hopper thought it was hard, and Daring thought it was easy."

"Yeah, I'm interested to see where this goes too." Duchess says coolly. Apple notices the smirk on her face and the sideways glance her way. This is the first time she's acknowledged her since the incident in Princessology. While she wasn't exactly happy leaving things the way they are, she knows better than to poke this sleeping bear.

"Ugh… not this nonsense again Duchess." Lizzie says breathily. Apple is thankful she's on her side.

Before Duchess has time to say anything else they're in front of the Advanced Wooing classroom. Inside there are five round tables set up at the front of the room. Each table has two chairs placed on opposite sides, and a glass vase with one carnation of a different color in each. The boys sit at their desks talking loudly amongst themselves. The chatter ceases as they walk in.

Advanced Wooing is taught by five professors. All of them named Professor Charming, which made things very confusing. There was King Charming, Daring, Dexter, and Darling's father. Lord Charming I and Lord Charming II, a wizened old man and his burly son. Admiral Charming, a descendent of the Charmflower Charmings. And today's professor, a plump, dark-skinned man who went simply by Professor C.. According to Daring he's stern, but fair, and his second favorite professor of the five. His Dad being the first of course.

"Thank you girls for helping us out today." He says in a regal baritone voice. "We appreciate your time. Please take a seat. One girl to each table."

Apple sits at the table closest to the door with a red carnation in its vase. Duchess attempts to sit next to her, but Poppy claims the table before she can. She huffs, and moves to the table with the purple carnation on the other end. Apple breathes a sigh of relief.

"I really hope this isn't a cooking thing." Poppy whispers to her. "I was in Lizzie's class, and she wasn't kidding about these guys' culinary skills."

Professor C. continues once they're settled. "Today our class will be practicing their oration skills. They will recite a poem they have written, and will be graded on how well it's written, how well it's recited, and how you lovely volunteers react. You know the rules boys. You get three attempts to successfully charm two girls. Back row, you're going first."

A few groans come from the back of the room, and five boys stand up and make their way to the front. The rest of the class resumes their conversations, though a few watch the front with curiosity. Professor C. makes notes on his clipboard, not seeming to mind the chatter. Apple waits for her partner, and is surprised when it's Alistair taking the chair across from her.

"I didn't know you were in this class." She says as he moves his chair closer to the table. It makes a scraping noise against the tile.

"Yeah. Professor Grimm put me on the same track as the other male heroes. It's not all bad. I like hero training well enough. But this class? I'm completely out of my element, like a jellyfish in Lake Lessinger."

Apple's not sure what this means, but she nods anyway.

"Err… I kind of forgot we were doing this today, so I don't have anything written. But I do have a poem memorized!" He says quickly, noticing her frown at his unpreparedness. "I'll go ahead and recite it."

Alistair clears his throat and begins his poem. She recognizes it after a few verses. Jabberwocky. It certainly reflects his Wonderlandian heritage, but it's not a romantic poem in the slightest. She's read the poem before. They studied it in her mythology class. But Professor Nimble's rendition doesn't hold a candle to Alistair's. He gets theatrical with it. Raising and lowering his voice, speeding up and slowing down. If he weren't sitting down he'd probably be moving around, using his whole body to perform.

When he finishes she applauds. He takes a tiny bow in his chair.

"So, did I win you over with my words?" He asks.

She shakes her head apologetically. "You did a really good job though. You should think about joining the speech team!"

Alistair shrugs, as though he couldn't care less if she was charmed or not. His poem was short, so they spend the next few minutes making small talk as they wait for the others to finish. He asks about Bunny. How she's adjusting to her new surroundings, how much Apple likes rooming with her. His crush is adorable and completely obvious, and he really needs to make a move.

"So we're talking about another girl I see." Professor Charming looms over them, not sounding particularly thrilled. They share identical winces at being told off. "Alistair you can try again with Duchess. She and Hopper just finished."

"Good luck." She says. He nods and moves on.

Hopper approaches her table. She can see the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His complexion is rather green, and she's not sure if he's going to be sick or turn into a frog. He scratches at the back of his neck.

"Hey Apple."

"Hi Hopper."

"You look uh…" He stammers. For a minute she's concerned he's going to sprout frog legs. "Lovely. Your blue eyes sparkle like the ocean."

It's kind of a cheesy compliment in her opinion, but she smiles encouragingly none the less.

He takes out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He doesn't say anything for a few moments. His legs are shaking under the table so violently it rattles the glass vase.

He takes a deep breath. Then exhales and takes another. "Okay here goes."

Hopper is not the next Shakespeare. She thinks he was going for a sonnet, but his rhythm is off. His poem is littered with sappy one-liners and verses that almost rhyme. His oration could use some work too. He stuttered and stammered his way through the poem, and he never once took his eyes off the paper. Maybe there's some girl out there who would be swayed by such a poem and performance, but it certainly isn't her.

Still, she can see that he put a lot of effort into it. And he managed to deliver the entire thing without poofing into a frog. For him this is a huge accomplishment.

"Oh Hopper that was… enchanting."

He guffaws. "Really you liked it?"

"Oh yes! It was so good." She flutters her eyelashes at him and pretends to swoon. She does feel bad that she's lying, but Hopper could use the confidence boost. She continues on complimenting his poetry, in a slightly louder than normal voice so Professor C. will be sure to hear.

"Nicely done Hopper. You can take a break until someone else is finished and try it again. Daring, come here and try wooing Apple."

Daring, hearing his name called, puts down the handheld mirror he was gazing at himself in and saunters over. As he passes by Lizzie he winks at her. Out of the corner of her eye she sees her wink back.

"Daring." Professor Charming clicks his tongue, not entirely disapprovingly. Duchess looks at Daring hopefully, but he doesn't acknowledge her. She crosses her arms and sinks further into her chair.

"My sweetest Apple." Daring says after he kisses her hand. "It was fate that brought us together."

"Actually it was Professor Charming."

Daring smiles at her. That thousand watt smile she's seen him use dozens of times on other girls. It looks so artificial in comparison to Raven's.

"I wrote a special poem just for you." She's about to roll her eyes, but stops herself. His poem wasn't written just for her. He didn't know who he was writing it for. She watches as he slides his chair right next to hers. He takes out a small vial of breath spray from his pocket and spritzes it in his mouth. She worries for a moment that he's going to kiss her right in front of the entire class.

He doesn't though. Instead he gently grabs her hand, and begins his poem.

It's a step up from Hopper's. The rhyme scheme actually works and there is some flow to it. He recites it with a confident bravado, and gazes into her eyes the entire time. Still, it's hokey and overly sentimental, and when he remarks about 'beautiful sapphire eyes' and 'flowing golden hair' she's almost certain he's referring to himself, not her.

When he's finished she claps lightly. "Wow… Daring, that was so beautiful."

"Of course it was. I wrote it."

Fortunately she doesn't have to keep laying on the compliments. Next to them Sparrow's attempt to woo Poppy went dreadfully sour. He wrote a song instead of a poem, and it sounded very sweet at first. Then his soft love ballad turned into hard rock and screaming. She and Daring both instinctively cover their ears.

"Sparrow cut it out!" Poppy shouts over the din.

"What? You don't like my music?" He plays another loud chord. She winces.

"You call that music?" She says incredulously.

Professor C. makes a mark on his clipboard. "Sparrow, we talked about this. Try it again with someone else. Apple and Cerise both appear to have openings." Apple really hopes he doesn't choose her.

Sparrow's eyes widen. "No! Professor Charming can't you get another volunteer? I bet this would work on Melody or Meeshell."

"Sparrow I'm not pulling any more girls from class." He says irritably.

"Please! I literally can't charm any of these girls! Duchess doesn't like me. Lizzie doesn't like anyone. Cerise is my cousin."

"Third cousin. Once removed." Cerise says dully. She tries to distance herself from Sparrow as much as possible. Apple can't blame her for doing so.

"Yeah we're distant cousins or whatever but still." He says quickly. "And Apple is a lesbian."

"What?" She sputters. "No I'm not!" She was expecting Sparrow's issue with her to be something along the lines of 'she's betrothed to Daring'. Not that. Definitely not that.

"You're dating Raven. Pretty sure that means you're a lesbian."

"Really Sparrow?" Poppy says. "Just because Apple likes one girl doesn't mean she's only into girls. She could be bi or pan, or just not into rude, ignorant people like yourself. "

"Okay then so what are you Apple?"

"Sparrow! Try having some tact when you ask personal questions like that."

"That's enough!" Professor Charming says, sounding annoyed. "Sparrow I see your point with Cerise, but I have no sympathy for your personal issues with Duchess and Lizzie. You'll charm whichever one of them finishes with their current wooer first."

Sparrow grumbles off towards Duchess and Lizzie, and Poppy turns her attention towards Dexter, who's just joined her at her table.

"Apple." Professor C. says. "This hexam is progressing quicker than I thought, so we probably don't need five girls helping us out. You can head back to class."

"What? Professor C. if this is about what Sparrow said then-"

He holds up a hand. "It's not because of what Sparrow said. It's because when I observed you with Hopper and Daring it was pretty obvious you weren't actually blown away by their poetry."

She looks down at her fingernails in shame. She thought her little white lies were believable. The boys both seemed convinced. Perhaps Professor C. is more adept at picking these kinds of things up.

"I know these boys are your friends and you want to help them out, but being dishonest only hurts them in the long run. If you can't evaluate them honestly then it's best you not evaluate them at all."

"I know. I'm sorry. Are you going to make them redo their test?"

"No. They both had pretty good technique, and if it had been done on another girl it may have worked. Not because of your sexuality, whatever it may or may not be. Some girls just aren't moved by poetry."

Apple exits the classroom, but instead of going back to class she heads for the dormitories. It's completely unlike her to ditch class, but she's just been throne through an enormous loop.

It was absolutely humiliating to be asked to leave class. What is wrong with her? Why couldn't these boys charm her? She's a princess. She's supposed to swoon over the prince. All Daring had to do was look at Lizzie and she completely melted. He didn't even acknowledge Duchess and she had almost the same reaction. Instead Daring putting those moves on her made her feel uncomfortable. And her mind kept wandering to Raven.

She went in hoping to prove her heterosexuality. Instead she came out less sure than ever. All of the clues point towards her liking Raven, but it can't be true. It just can't be.

If she really is gay, and she really does have feelings for Raven, what's going to happen to their story?

When she gets to her room she flops over on her bed.

"I don't have feelings for Raven. I don't have feelings for Raven." She whispers into her pillow.

Maybe if she says it enough times it will be true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate writing poetry, so I opted not to write the actual poems Hopper and Daring recited. You can fill in the blanks.
> 
> There's a sneaky Harry Potter reference hidden in there. Give yourself a pat on the back if you spotted it. Also a biblical allusion. Which kinda fits into the realm of EAH I guess?
> 
> Thank you so much for all the love! I really appreciate feedback. The greatest feeling in the world is knowing someone likes your work!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited (?) chapter 7. I said the updates would come faster, and I delivered.

Waking up to the sound of Faybelle cursing isn't anything new to Raven. Waking up to the smell of singed hair however.

"Stupid curler! I thought Poppy said this thing would work." She rips the plug out of the socket. "Hey roommate I'm borrowing your curling iron."

Faybelle makes an angry mob seem kind and considerate.

"It's on my vanity." Raven grumbles before rolling onto her side and pulling her comforter up above her head. It's too early in the morning to deal with this. The sun isn't even up yet. She doesn't particularly want Faybelle borrowing her stuff, but if she refused she would swipe it anyway and never tell her, leaving her to wonder where it went.

Faybelle is blissfully quiet for a few minutes as she styles her hair. The cheap curling iron her Dad bought her when she started high school must be up to Faybelle's high standards. Raven cozies into her comforter cocoon, and is almost fast asleep once more when she feels a sharp tug on her ankle.

"What is it?" She moans. She's not getting up unless it's a national emergency.

"I need you to tell me if my bow looks crooked."

Knowing Faybelle, this is a national emergency. Raven groggily sits up in her bed, and blinks a few times to rid herself of the post-sleep blurriness.

Faybelle stands in front of her in her cheerhexing uniform. Her white-blonde hair is curled into tight ringlets and tied up in a high ponytail. The red and purple bow attached to her ponytail elastic sits perfectly straight on her head.

"It looks fine Faybelle."

"Thanks." She says plainly, and returns to her vanity. She picks up a tube of body glitter and applies a liberal amount to her cheeks. If any of that stuff gets on her side of the room she swears she's going to wring her neck.

"Oh by the way I need your curling iron for the game tonight. You don't mind if I bring it with me right?"

The bookball team plays their first playoff game tonight. All the way in Neverland. It's so far away they leave this morning and won't return until Saturday afternoon. Which means Raven has the room all to herself, and she can finally catch up on the sleep she's in desperate need of. But it also means, if Faybelle has her way, that she'll be without her curling iron.

She glances at herself in her vanity mirror. Her hair is currently indistinguishable from a bird's nest.

"Can't you borrow someone else's? I really need mine."

"What for? To get ready for Briar's bookball party? The party I wasn't invited to?"

"Faybelle, you'll be at the game. You couldn't go even if you wanted to."

She huffs. "She still should've thought to invite me."

Faybelle's been griping about this all week long. She can kind of understand why she's miffed about it, but does she have to take it out on her? It's not her fault.

"Actually I need it for Friday Pride-day. Apple's been telling me I need to show off my school spirit more."

"Aww… are you and your girlfriend going to wear matching Pride-day outfits?" She smirks and puts air quotes around the word girlfriend.

Raven sighs, exasperated. "Oh Grimm. I'm guessing Duchess told you all about her theory?"

"She won't shut up about it. It's getting annoying. I mean really? You're pretending to be lesbians to be more popular? That doesn't even make sense. It might help you out, but Apple's already queen bee of this school. What would she get out of it?"

"Wait, you don't believe her?" Raven stares at her wide-eyed. She couldn't have heard her right. She had expected Faybelle to be wholly convinced by Duchess, and ready to give her a hard time about it.

Faybelle rolls her eyes. "This is totally the kind of thing she'd make up. Plus if you are faking it you're doing an awfully thorough job. Sleeping with that scarf Apple made you under your pillow is a pretty convincing touch."

She turns to look at her pillow and sure enough there's her scarf underneath. She'd forgotten she'd put it there. It wasn't meant to mean anything romantic.

Faybelle picks up a blue duffel bag on her bed. "Anyway I'm off to find a curling iron. Since you ever so rudely won't let me borrow yours. Then I have early morning cheerhexing practice before we hit the road. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you." She says as Faybelle bounds out of the room. The second she hears the door shut she flops back down onto her bed.

When she wakes up for the second time she's clutching her scarf.

She has a more difficult time than usual taming her mop of hair. Even with her curling iron. For a fleeting second she considers using magic to fix it up, then remembers what happened last time she tried that. She's certain Faybelle won't take as kindly to broken furniture as Apple did.

She thinks back to that week she had to hold Apple's mirror and pay her compliments. She'd always scoffed at the people who'd called her 'the fairest one of all', because nobody could really be that pretty. But when she was forced to look at her. Really look at her. She started to see how stunning she actually was.

She was running late thanks to her misbehaving hair and her clothes still being disorganized from the move. It took her forever to find her track pants with the school logo on them. Her mouth starts watering when she gets a whiff of the castleteria's French toast, but there's not enough time to eat it before class starts. She grabs a banana instead.

She's thinking she'll have her breakfast to go until she spots Apple sitting on the lower level of the Castleteria. She has to do a double take to make sure it's her. This girl with limp, blonde curls sitting at a table all alone can't be Apple.

Apple's been looking incredibly forlorn the past few days. They were supposed to have lunch together on Wednesday, but she never showed up. She looked all over the castleteria, thinking she might be at a table they don't normally sit at, but there was no sign of her anywhere. When she tracked her down later that day and asked where she was, she gave her a vague non-answer and quickly changed the subject. Ever since then she's been keeping to herself and she's lost her natural sparkle.

It makes Raven's heart ache seeing her so down. Especially because she doesn't know why. Apple won't tell her, which makes her wonder if she's the cause. Is she having second thoughts about their relationship? She was so hesitant to begin with, but Raven thought she had worked through all of that. If they could just talk about it maybe they could sort this all out, but she's been skittish around her.

"Hey Sweetie." Raven says as she approaches.

"Oh hey Raven." She says plainly, not looking up from her bowl of soggy cereal. She's concerned by the lack of silly pet name.

"Are you hexcited for Briar's party tonight?"

"Yeah. It should be fun." It sounds as much fun as a root canal the way she says it.

"So… did you want to go together?"

Apple drops her spoon. It clangs against the side of the ceramic bowl. "I can't. I told Briar I'd come early to help set up."

"Oh. Well I'll see you there then?"

"Yeah." She stands up from her seat and starts walking to the tray return.

"Heading out?"

She nods.

"Hang on. I'll walk you to class."

"You don't have to do that."

"But I want to." She reaches to grab her hand. Apple senses what she's doing, and pulls it away before she can.

Apple's pace is quick. Raven almost has to jog to keep up. When they turn a corner they bump into Cupid, nearly plowing her over. Cupid's reaction time is slow, as she's on her MirrorPhone and not paying attention to where she's going, but she manages to break her fall by fluttering her wings and lifting herself off the ground.

"Oh, sorry Cupid." Apple says quickly.

"It's okay. I should have been paying better attention. It's just I'm in a total worry flurry right now."

"What's wrong?" Raven asks.

"It's my Mirrorcast show. I was supposed to have Dr. Phil Charming as a guest next week, but he just called me and cancelled. I don't know what to do. I don't have anything else prepared. I can't draft a new script on top of all the thronework I have."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Raven says. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Cupid starts to shake her head, then stops. She stares at them, tapping her chin. Raven thinks she sees the tiniest hint of a smile on her face. "Well there is one thing you could do."

"Sure! What is it?"

"Would you guys like to be guests on my show? It'll be different from Blondie's interview. You'll be giving advice rather than talking about yourselves. I've been planning to do an LGBT segment for a while. Who better to give advice on that than you two?"

Raven beams at her. "Cupid I'm so honored. Of course we'll help you."

Apple looks less than enthused about the idea. Her face seems even more pale than usual. But nevertheless she gives a timid nod.

Cupid's panicked look has completely vanished, replaced by a dimpled smile. "Thank you guys so much! I'll hext you the details over the weekend."

"It's no problem. We're glad we can help." Raven says.

Right then the warning bell rings. Cupid thanks them once more before flying off to her first class. Raven and Apple continue on their way.

She turns to Apple. "Well this'll be fun. A lot of people listen to Cupid's show. We could make a big impact."

She doesn't respond. She doesn't even look at her. In an instant she's put back up the wall she's built to separate her from the world.

They walk until they reach the main staircase. Apple's first class, home evilnomics, is all the way down in the dungeons. Her first class, mythology, is on the third floor.

"See you later." Raven says.

"Yeah." And before she can blink Apple's speeding down the stairs.

The whole school is buzzing over the first playoff game. Even her professors get into the spirit. Her entire chemythstry class cheered when Professor Rumpelstiltskin said he would push their hexam back a day. Professor Badwolf was completely swept up by Bookball mania, and didn't even bother giving them the quiz he had planned. Instead he told them, as he gazed wistfully at his #1 Dad mug, that he had a playlist of funny BookTube videos queued up. Headmaster Giles subbed for Coach Gingerbreadman, and he let them walk around the track instead of run laps like they were supposed to do.

When the school day ended all she had was History of Spells thronework. She shoves the worksheet deep into her messenger bag. She'll look at it later.

That afternoon she challenges a few friends to play a game of hextreme croquet. She, Darling, and Lizzie on one team, Maddie, Bunny, and Blondie on the other. They decide early on that playing a royals vs. rebels game is a terrible idea, and her heart is swimming with pride.

When it gets too dark to see they decide to head back to campus. Raven had long since lost track of the score, but according to Lizzie, their team won. They can hear the music booming from the bookball party in the courtyard. Briar had to host the party outside because there wasn't a room in the school big enough to accommodate the large crowd and giant projector screen. She had some concerns about the weather, but everything turned out okay.

They're just approaching the main gates when she spots something. She stops walking to examine it. There's a shadowy figure lying in a large tree. It's looming down on her with electric blue eyes.

"Hey Raven, are you coming?" Darling asks, realizing she's a few paces behind them.

"You guys keep going. I'll catch up later." She calls back to her. She hears them continue on.

She looks up at the tree and crosses her arms in disdain.

"Kitty. What are you up to?"

Kitty makes a big show of yawning, opening her mouth wide enough to catch flies and stretching her arms as far as they go. "Just taking a cat nap in my favorite tree."

She frowns. "You can sleep over all this noise?"

"It hasn't been this loud all afternoon." She pouts.

"Kitty I want to ask you about something." She's not sure if it's leftover adrenaline from the croquet game or a strong desire to help Apple, but she's feeling bold right now.

In the darkness she thinks she sees her raise a curious eyebrow. "Oh? What about?"

"Your knowledge on a certain topic."

"Hmm… I know a lot of things. You're going to have to be more specific."

"Something about me and Apple."

"You two? Well you've been quite popular since you started dating. I've heard lots of gossip. So much that I'm not sure what's real and what's fake." The word fake looms over her like a dark shadow.

"What do you think is fake?" Raven asks.

Kitty smiles a toothy grin. "I think you know hexactly what I'm talking about." Before Raven can say anything in response she disappears.

That settles it. Kitty knows. She definitely knows.

As if Raven didn't have enough on her plate already.

Telling the whole school flat out isn't Kitty's style. Instead she'll mess with them. She'll set up suspicious situations where if they don't do some quick thinking they, not Kitty, will be the ones to reveal themselves. That's what she's been doing with Cerise for the past few months, much to her dismay.

She thinks she can handle Kitty. Her concerns lie with Apple. How is she going to tell her?

She pushes the thought to the back of her mind, and heads for the party. She'll figure it out later. Tonight she wants to celebrate.

The party's already at full swing when she arrives. She can hear a chorus of voices all trying to talk over each other and the Zayn Magic music video playing on the big screen. A few people have set up blankets, others lie in the grass. A large group of people crowd around a group of tables on the opposite side of the courtyard. She can smell hot pizza and popcorn from here. Her stomach gurgles loudly. Like a magnet, she's drawn to the buffet line of food.

Raven grabs a paper plate, and piles it high with nachos and mini corn dogs. Briar's hovering over the chocolate fountain, making certain that everyone uses a fork instead of sticking their fingers in the chocolate. Raven stabs a marshmallow with a fork and sticks it in the fountain.

"Great party so far." She shouts over the din.

"Thanks!" Briar says before she pops a strawberry in her mouth.

"Do you need me to help out with anything?"

"Nah I got this. You just kick back and relax. The game should be starting soon." She scarfs down one more strawberry bite before running off to refill the popcorn machine.

Raven looks for a place to sit. She sees Cedar and Ashlynn sharing a butterfly print blanket talking animatedly. Nearby is Maddie in the grass eating a cotton candy puffball twice the size of her head. The Headmasters sit up front with a few other professors. They're all keeping an eye on The Merry Men (sans Sparrow and Jonathan who are on the Bookball team), who seem to have orchestrated a hot dog eating contest. It takes her a while to scan the crowd to find the one person she's looking for.

Apple's tucked away by a weeping willow tree, far away from the noise. She's sitting in the center of a crimson fleece blanket. If she moves over there might be room for both of them. Given her recent iciness though she doubts that she will. Still, it doesn't stop Raven from plopping in the grass next to her.

"Nacho?" She holds out her plate.

Apple shakes her head. "I'm full. But thanks."

"You're not too cold are you?" Her arms are wrapped tightly around her chest.

"I'm fine." She says. She doesn't take her eyes off the screen.

Raven rolls onto her stomach and rests her cheek in her hand. She hums along with the music in-between bites of food.

"Have you talked to Kitty recently?" She tries to sound casual, like she's asking about the weather instead of a touchy topic.

"No! Have you? Has she said anything?" Her voice cracks as she says it.

"No no! I was just wondering." She lies. She can't bring herself to tell the truth just yet. Apple would surely panic if she knew Kitty was onto them. She doesn't want to add to her troubles.

"So do you understand bookball?" Raven asks, steering the conversation away from Kitty.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, do you know how the rules work?" She never quite got into bookball. She's still not even sure she knows how the rules work. There's a quarterbook. She knows that much. They throw the bookball, and then someone catches it. Then everyone tackles the person with the ball? The details get muddled after that.

"Sort of. I know the point is to get the ball into the end zone and score a touchcrown. But I don't understand the finer nuances of it."

"Me either."

The screen switches from a twenty one coachmen music video to the game. A local journalist is finishing up an interview with Daring, the captain of the Bookball team.

"And of course, I want to give a shout out to my friends back home. One friend in particular who holds a special place in my heart. You know who you are." He winks at the camera. There's a tidal wave of squeals and giggles. Daring's fangirls of course. They all probably think they're that one 'special friend'.

She looks at Apple, who's smiling feebly. She had expected more of a reaction, but a part of her is pleased by this lukewarm disdainfulness.

The camera pans away from Daring onto the Neverland cheerhexing squad, which is comprised mainly of tiny pixies. They spell out words in the air with pixie dust. The Neverland Academy fans cheer, but they can barely be heard over the whole party booing exuberantly.

Raven shakes her fist at the big screen. "You're going down Neverland!"

"Oh Raven don't be mean. They're doing a hexcellent job."

She laughs. "They're our rivals Apple. We're supposed to smack talk them."

After the players are introduced and the Neverland Academy marching band plays their school's fight song the game begins. Raven tries to make sense of what's going on, but she ends up very confused. After a few minutes she stops watching and picks at the blades of grass. When the first quarter is almost over Briar spreads out her blanket next to Raven. The puff of air blows away her fist-sized pile of grass clippings.

"How's my favorite couple doing?" She asks as she swipes a mini corndog from Raven's plate.

"We're good." Apple says hastily.

Briar looks from Apple on the blanket to her in the grass. She raises an eyebrow but doesn't comment.

Briar has a better understanding of bookball than either of them, so she acts as a translator. She shouts and cheers fervently, waving her pink foam finger in the air every time they score a touchcrown. When halftime rolls around Ever After has a comfortable lead, and Raven thinks she has a better understanding of how the game works.

In the second half Neverland starts playing rough. They aren't going down without a fight. In the first seven minutes they score two touchcrowns. She and Briar are both booing as Apple looks at them distastefully.

"Is that ref blind!" Briar shouts. "He totally should have called for interference!"

"Yeah, what she said!" She's never been one to shout at a TV before. She always thought her dad was totally ridiculous when he did it. But she's been infected with energy, and more than anything she really wants to see her school win.

"Hey hold on a minute, why is Dexter on the ground?" Apple says, sounding concerned.

Raven looks and sees that yes, Dexter is seated on the ground clutching his shoulder. A medic is running out to look at him. Her eyes widen, and she shovels chocolate covered pretzels into her mouth as she awaits news.

"Is he going to be okay?" Apple asks.

"I think so. He's sitting up, which is a pretty good sign." Briar responds.

After a few minutes fuss with the medic, he's able to walk off the field. She breathes a sigh of relief, glad her friend isn't seriously injured.

The game ends an hour later with Ever After winning with a final score of 56 to 38. The party goes on for a few more hours, this time as a victory spellebration. Melody breaks out her turntables, and everyone rolls up their blankets to make room for a dance floor. Around one in the morning Headmaster Grimm marches out in his nightshirt to shut the whole thing down. By that time Apple had left the party hours ago.

With Faybelle gone Raven sleeps like a log. When she wakes up on Saturday it's nearly noon, and she feels rested and relaxed enough that she could win a tricastelon tournament singlehanded. Instead, she heads for the castleteria, bounding down the stairs two at a time.

That afternoon she finally takes a look at her thronework, and much to her dismay she realizes it's far more complex than she originally thought. Multiple part questions should be banned from existence. With Faybelle back from Neverland her room isn't exactly a study haven. She's blasting her awful music as usual. So she heads to the lifairy for some peace and quiet.

She's in the non-fiction section looking for a biography on some ancient warlock when she spots Apple sitting in one of the plush arm chairs by the fireplace reading a book. Raven glances at the cover. The Encyclopedia of Dream Interpretation. She wonders what class that's for.

As she's walking over to say hello the step-lifairians angrily shush Melody for typing on her laptop too loud. She makes a rude hand gesture their way once they've diverted their attention elsewhere. Raven turns right around and high tails it back to her study table. She'd rather not face the step-lifairians wrath.

She keeps an eye on Apple as she works. She flips through the pages of her dream interpretation book for a little while, then picks up another book in a stack on the end table beside her. Raven's too far away to catch the title. After an hour she gets up and leaves, gathering her books and placing them back on their proper shelves.

Raven spends the rest of her afternoon buried deep into her thronework. Thoughts of Apple are shoved aside, though not entirely forgotten, by the need to get this stupid assignment done. Only when she looks up to see the sun setting in the windows does she realize it's dinnertime.

She sends a hext to Apple asking if she'd like to get dinner. Predictably she doesn't' get a response.

"She does seem to be a bit blue lately doesn't she?" Maddie says at dinner after she brings up Apple. Raven watches as she adds a copious amount of parmesan cheese to her mostaccioli. "Maybe she got a new haircut, and she's sad that nobody noticed. But she hasn't said anything because she wants people to notice on their own and not have it pointed out by her."

"I don't think that's it." She's spent so much time gazing at Apple's hair she has it memorized.

"Well that's all I got. Have any suggestions Miss Narrator?"

There's a few minutes silence as the Narrator continues to be a third party observer and not a character in the story. Thereby ignoring Maddie.

Maddie shrugs at the ceiling. "Well it was worth a shot. Maybe you could give her some tea to cheer her up. She likes chamomile the best, but Chai is good for reducing stress and anxiety. Oh! Or you could show her the gift you're making. That ought to bring a smile to her face."

"It's not done yet." She says. She wants her gift to be absolutely perfect for Apple, so it's taking a lot longer than she anticipated. "I just want to talk to her about all of this. But I haven't been able to find a place or a time. She keeps dodging me, and I'm kind of afraid of getting overheard."

"Try talking to her tomorrow afternoon. Bunny's helping out at the Tea Shoppe so you guys'll have a room all to yourselves."

"That could work. Thanks Maddie!"

"Not a problem." She smiles before taking another bite of pasta. "So, have you gone to visit Dexter in the infairmary?" Her words come out garbled from the food in her mouth.

"Not yet." She feels a twinge of guilt as she says it. She's been so focused on Apple and her thronework that she hadn't spared Dexter much thought. It's odd. Normally she would be thinking about him non-stop. Now though, he's taken a back seat to Apple.

"I went to see him with Lizzie and Daring this afternoon. I think the bump on his head taught him Riddlish!"

"Huh?"

But she learns what Maddie meant when she swings by the infairmary that evening. There's raucous giggling coming from his room. She can hear it from down the hall. She expects to find someone visiting him, but instead he's alone.

"Ravey! You came to see me!" He shouts and a sloppy smile spreads over his face.

When has he ever called her Ravey?

Dexter sits propped up in an infairmary bed. There's bandaging wrapped around his head, and his left arm is in a sling. His glasses are slightly askew and he has a serious case of bedhead. The TV is on, but she can't see what he's watching. The table next to him is covered with cards, and a glass vase of baby pink roses. She stares down at her empty hands and wonders if she should have brought something too.

"Hi Dexter." She walks somewhat timidly closer to his bed. He's giggling again. She sees the TV is playing nothing but static.

Dexter squints up at her, a look of concentration on his face. "You're the real Ravey right?"

She eyes him strangely. "Uh... yes."

"Good. I wanted to make sure you weren't a piece of furniture. I thought Hunter came to visit earlier, but I was actually talking to a lamp. Can you believe that?"

Raven laughs. "What kind of medicine do they have you on Dex? It's making you loopy."

"I don't know, but it's amazing. I can't feel a thing! It's like I'm floating down a peaceful, lazy river. Let's go swimming tomorrow Ravey! I bet you look really good in a swimsuit."

Instinctively she crosses her arms over her chest. A part of her is flattered, but another finds it really off-putting.

"I don't think that's a good idea. You need to rest. And I'm not sure your bandages are waterproof."

Dexter stares down at his sling as though it's something he's never seen before. "Oh right. I forgot. I broke my shoulder and conked my head. Those Neverlanders play rough. Now I gotta wear this thing for 6 weeks."

"Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that. I imagine you can't play bookball anymore."

He laughs. "Yup. I'm benched for the rest of the season."

"You don't sound too upset."

"Are you kidding? I'm hexstatic. I hate bookball. I'm only on the team because my Dad made me join. He said it would build character or something like that. Look how much good it did me."

"Well, it got you out of doing something you don't like, so that's a bright spot."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Now we gotta get you out of the thing you're doing that you don't like."

She tilts her head. "What am I doing that I don't like."

"Come on Ravey, you don't really want to be pretend dating Apple do you?"

"Dexter!" She hisses. She takes a glance out into the hallway to make sure nobody is there.

His eyes widen. "Oh right that's supposed to be a secret. Whoops." He mimes zipping his lips shut. "Don't worry. I won't tell a soul."

Her concerns aren't really put to rest. If he was sloppy enough to slip up once, he could very well do it again. But it's highly unlikely anyone would believe him in this state. The sooner this medicine wares off the better.

"How did you two even decide to be a couple? Like, it seems like the hexact opposite thing Apple would do."

She's uncertain if she should proceed, but there doesn't seem to be anyone around. Still, she talks in a low voice that anyone nearby would have trouble hearing. "I uh… talked her into it. Our original plan was to set up a real royal and rebel couple, but it got turned into us pretending to be one."

He giggles. "Ha! I'd love to hear the story of how that happened!"

"It's not much of a story really. Blondie stumbled upon us in an awkward position, and we went along with it."

He scratches his chin. "So you wanted to make a real royal and rebel couple. How come you didn't ask me to help? I woulda done it you know."

"We thought about it. Apple wanted to set you up with Rosabella."

"Oh Grimm not that Beauty and the Beast nonsense. I get enough of that from my parents. I don't wanna date Bellarosa. I wanna date you! You know I'm like in love with you right?" He laughs and bops her on the nose with his pointer finger.

She feels like somebody pulled the rug out from underneath her. Dexter doesn't like her. He likes Cupid. This must be some side effect from the medicine.

"Very funny Dexter." She laughs breathily.

"Ravey Queeny you're the hottest gorgeousest most magical girl on the entire planet. And I'm deeply and madly in love with you. I think about you all the time. I'm thinking about you right now actually. What kind of cake do you like best? That's what we'll have at our wedding."

She fidgets with her bracelets uncomfortably. She would very much like to leave right now. Just run out the door and not come back until Dexter regains his sanity.

She decides to steer their conversation away from her. "What about Cupid?"

He stares vacantly at her. "What about her?"

"I thought you two liked each other."

"What? No. We're just friends."

"Really? But I saw you guys together at the True Hearts Day party."

"Yeah. As friends."

"She sent you those flowers right?"

He looks at her as though she's a naïve toddler. "Those are friendship flowers Ravey."

Daring would ask Duchess for her hand in marriage before Cupid sent Dexter a bouquet of 'friendship flowers.' Does this poor boy really not realize her feelings?

She looks away from him for a moment, and when she turns back his eyes are closed and his head is slumped over on his good shoulder. In the span of a minute's silence he's fallen asleep.

"Dexter?" She taps his arm. He lets out a loud snore. She shuts off the TV and leaves before he wakes up.

So Dexter is madly in love with her. Has been for some time by the sound of it. She should be jumping for joy and skipping down the hallway like she just won the lottery. Instead the whole confession left her feeling odd. He came on so strong, and out of nowhere. She had expected puppy love but got burning, passionate desire instead. His fervor was a bit much, and his feelings don't seem to parallel her own. She definitely likes Dexter. But is she in love with him?

A few weeks ago she may have said yes, but now, she's not so sure.

She avoids the infairmary the next day, though she hears from Darling at lunch that they've dialed back on the painkillers and he's cleared to attend classes tomorrow. Once he's come back to his senses he'll say his confession was all one big misunderstanding and they'll laugh and their friendship will go back to normal. Or so she hopes.

She hasn't been to her old room since she moved out over a week ago. She'd forgotten how tiring it was to climb up those flights of stairs. Where was all that energy she had yesterday?

She knocks three times on the door, and it seems like hours before Apple finally answers.

"Oh. Hi Raven." She says with feigned enthusiasm.

"Hey Apple. I thought I'd swing by to pick up my stuff."

"Oh okay." She leaves the door open as she scuffles back into her room. Raven takes it as a cue to enter.

She's never seen her old room so messy before. Granted most of the clutter seems to be Bunny's. The carpet is littered with carrot tops and tufts of white fur. But Apple's bed is unmade and her hextbooks are stacked haphazardly on her desk. She notices all the framed photographs of her are missing.

Apple hands her a cardboard box filled with her things. Their fingers brush against each other momentarily. "I think this is all of it. Let me know if something is missing."

"Thanks." She smiles. Apple turns to sit at her desk. Raven remains standing in the center of the room.

"Well uh… I'll see you around." Apple says unsurely after a few minutes of awkward silence have passed.

"Wait, do you mind if we talk first?"

Apple inhales sharply. "As long as it doesn't take too long. I have some work I need to get done."

Raven sits down on Apple's bed, and motions for her to sit next to her. She does, somewhat tentatively.

"Is everything okay with you?" She asks.

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know. You just seem kind of off lately."

"Well I'm fine." She sees a faint blush creep across her cheeks.

"Come on now Apple. I know you better than that. I can tell there's something bothering you."

Apple looks like she might say something, but remains silent.

"Apple if I did something to upset you, you can tell me. I promise whatever it is I won't get mad."

She finally meets her gaze. Her eyes are wide and she looks as though she might cry. "Oh Raven please don't blame yourself. This is all my doing, not yours."

"Then what is it?"

"It's something personal. I'm going through a bit of a phase, and I guess it's caused me to be a little distracted."

"What kind of phase?"

"I'm sorry Raven, but I can't talk about it with you. If you knew what it was you'd understand. The best thing you can do is give me some space and let me figure things out on my own."

She nods, although she doesn't really understand. What could Apple be going through that they can't figure out together? Apple's always been an open book. She never knew she had secrets.

"Okay, I'll leave you be. But if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. We're friends remember?"

"Yeah. Of course."

Apple seems almost back to normal over the next few days. She's smiling again, and her hair is shiny and full of lively, bouncing curls. They hold hands in the hallway as though nothing was ever wrong. Still, she can't shake the feeling that Apple's just putting on a performance for her now that she knows something is up.

"Did you finish the Chemythstry thronework?" Raven asks as she dials the combination to her locker.

"Of course. Did you?"

"Yeah." She bites her lip.

Apple tsks. "You didn't finish it did you?"

"I tried to, but I just ended up really confused. I don't understand how chemythical bonding works."

"It's really easy once you get the hang of it. You start with two opposing elements. Then add a little bit of pressure and the two elements will combine to make something greater."

"Am I interrupting something?" Kitty says, materializing right in front of them. Apple takes a startled step back.

"Kind of." Raven takes her book out of her locker and glares at Kitty. Grimm, not now. Not right as Apple is starting to get back to her usual self.

"I just want to ask about a certain rumor."

"What's that?" Apple asks.

"That Blondie caught you two kissing in a broom closet, which is how she found out you'd been secretly dating."

Raven stares her down. "We weren't kissing, but yes, that's the story."

She raises her eyebrows, and her mouth forms a tiny 'o' in faux shock. "Oh… so you two weren't kissing?"

"Yeah. That's what I just said. Now if you don't mind, we're going to be late for class." She shuts her locker door and is about to walk away when Kitty starts talking again.

"I just think it's funny. You two have been in a relationship for a few weeks, and nobody has ever seen you kiss."

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Apple blush furiously red. Raven's own face feels a little hot, but she isn't going to take the bait. "I don't see what's funny about it. We just don't like being affectionate in public."

"But you hold hands all the time." A voice squawks. Their conversation has attracted the attention of Duchess Swan.

"Holding hands and kissing are two totally different things." Apple says defensively.

"Yeah. One of them you did before you were dating." She puts air quotes around dating.

"So?"

"I'm just pointing out that all the little displays of affection have been friendly and completely tame. Which is probably because that's all you two are. Friends." A crowd of interested spectators have gathered around them. Kitty's slinked off to somewhere in the thick of it, and Duchess has taken over as ringleader.

"Duchess we're running late for class." She says irritably. The bell will ring any minute now.

"Now you're making hexcuses to get out of it. How suspicious."

Apple gives a string of painfully fake coughs. "Uh… I think I might be coming down with a cold. And I wouldn't want Raven to catch it."

Duchess scoffs, and motions at them to the crowd of onlookers. "Do you hear what kind of hexcuses they're making up!"

She had no idea how terrible of a liar Apple was. Cedar could have said that more convincingly. The crowd murmurs words Raven can't distinguish. They might not believe Duchess' wild tale of them being a fake couple, but there is something suspicious about making up lame excuses not to kiss.

Maybe they can play it off as shyness. This relationship is new and they're too nervous to kiss in front of so many people.

Instead Raven grabs Apple by the shoulders and spins her around to face her, leaving only a small gap between them. The crowd falls deathly silent.

Apple stares up at her with round, innocent eyes. Her mouth is slightly agape. She looks like a lost puppy. She nods her head ever so slightly. Raven can't tell if she's saying yes or if it's a nervous head bob. She starts to close her eyes in a sleepy, half open half closed way. She takes that as her cue.

Raven moves her head in, tilting it slightly to the right so their noses don't collide. Apple tilts hers to the left. Her nose pokes her cheek, and their lips meet.

It's a soft, chaste kiss. Their lips are just barely touching. She doesn't move. She doesn't thrust her jaw or press her lips harder. She doesn't even breathe. She's not sure what to do with her hands, so she leaves them on her shoulders. Apple's stay limply at her sides.

Raven counts the seconds in her head. It gives her mind something to do. She can concentrate on the time instead of how close Apple is and how some of her soft curls are brushing against her face.

When she reaches seven seconds she pulls away. Upon opening her eyes she sees Apple is once again staring at her. She's not blushing. Instead her face is drained of all color except for her red and purple lips.

She and Apple hold eye contact for a few lingering seconds. Then she turns to Duchess. "There. We kissed. Now will you do us a favor and keep your oversized beak out of other people's business?"

Duchess glowers at them. She obviously didn't think they would go this far. Raven smirks in satisfaction.

"Uh… Raven." Apple says timidly.

"What is it sweetie?" Apple points at the drinking fountain across the hallway, which is spewing water like an out of control fire hydrant. The crowd that had amassed around them is running every which way to avoid getting soaked.

She curses under her breath. "I did that didn't I?" She expects to get a yes from Apple, but she's already scurried into their Chemythstry classroom.

She doesn't get a chance to talk to Apple until the school day is over. When Raven finds her she's sitting alone in the courtyard by the same weeping willow tree as Friday night. There's a book in her lap, but she's staring off into space. The title is obscured by her knees.

"Hey." She waves at Apple as she approaches.

Apple gives her a small smile. She closes the book, and tucks it away in her bag.

She takes a breath. "I'm sorry about what happened this afternoon."

"Don't be."

"Kitty figured out our secret. I'm sorry I didn't warn you."

"It's okay. It wouldn't have prevented what happened from happening."

"I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."

"No. You were fine. I know it wasn't supposed to mean anything." She sounds almost bitter.

Raven sits down next to her. Neither one of them talk for a while. Raven doesn't have anything to say. She just wants to be with Apple. She watches the willow leaves sway gently in the breeze.

"Was that your first kiss?" Apple asks, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. It was."

"Mine too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah Dexven, the natural enemy of the Rapple shipper. I don't want to spoil too much, but don't worry, this won't be a bait-and-switch Dexven story. I wouldn't do that to you.
> 
> The scene in the infairmary is inspired by a true story where a friend of mine was in the hospital and had a drug-induced hallucination that I was a paper cup.
> 
> Kudos and Comments make my day! Thank you everyone who's given them so far :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how about that Dragon Games special amirite?
> 
> I meant to finish this by Valentine's Day, but that obviously didn't happen. Whoops...
> 
> Happy Femmeslash February!

Rule 17 part C of the Ever After High School Handbook explicitly states that students are not allowed to engage in inappropriate hallway conduct, including public displays of affection. Apple knows this. She's read the entire handbook cover to cover. Three times.

She broke this rule in front of a huge crowd, which just so happened to include the two people spellbent on making her life miserable. The chances of it not getting reported are about the same as Daring walking past a mirror and not stopping to admire his reflection. Once Headmaster Grimm hears about it he's bound to give her detention. Her filthy rule breaking ways will forever mar her permanent record. She can't think of anything worse than being known as the girl who broke rule 17 part C.

And yet, she would break it again in a heartbeat.

In those moments leading up to the kiss, as they gazed longingly into each other's eyes, she felt a rush of anticipation like she had never experienced before. She was jittery out of both excitement and nerves. Goosebumps prickled up and down her arms. Time played tricks on her. Everything around her both sped up and slowed down as they tilted their heads and leaned in closer.

And when their lips finally met, it felt like she was falling. She had never been so light and free in her life. Nothing else around her seemed to matter. There were no onlookers, no Kitty, no Duchess. All that mattered was Raven, and how her lips tasted like the sweetest candy. Then in an instant, it was over. Apple hit the ground, and Raven was pulling away faster than the speed of light.

It wasn't enough. Not long enough, not passionate enough. She craved more. She wanted to pull Raven back in and kiss her like there was no tomorrow. If she had any less self-control she probably would have. Instead, she hightailed it out of there as reality and common sense came barreling back.

The kiss wasn't meant to be romantic. Raven didn't do it because she was in love with her. She just succumbed to peer pressure. She meant to portray annoyance at Duchess and Kitty, not affection towards her.

But that kiss. That kiss. How could Raven not feel something?

She certainly did.

There was no point in denying it anymore. She can't explain away her feelings with feeble excuses this time. The rush she got from kissing her best friend was not platonic. Not in the slightest.

She's fallen for Raven Queen. And that terrifies her more than a thousand detentions.

The next morning she gets another summoning to the Headmaster's office. She doesn't need to open the envelope to know what it's about. Her stomach feels like a lead balloon weighing her down. As she navigates the halls she braces herself for the worst. She tries to walk with her head held high, but her hands are trembling so much it takes her a few attempts to open the office door.

Raven's sitting in a plush arm chair playing with a loose strand of hair. Same as last time. Apple gets a strange feeling of Déjà vu. She seats herself in the open chair on her left, and Raven casts her a small smile.

The Headmasters' office looks nearly identical to her last visit, with the exception of some new potted plants on the windowsill. There Headmaster Giles fusses over a tiny bonsai tree. He sets down the blue watering can and turns to face them.

"Ah! Apple. I'm glad you made it. Let's get started shall we?"

"Where's Headmaster Grimm?" Apple asks before she can stop herself. The Headmaster's much stricter brother is nowhere to be seen.

As he takes his seat he smiles warmly at her. "He's busy at the moment. I think we'll manage perfectly fine without him."

The tension in her shoulders relaxes. She had been dreading Headmaster Grimm's harsh criticism and scorned looks.

Headmaster Giles clears his throat before speaking. "Many students have made claims that you two caused a disturbance in the hallways. And this disturbance was so brazenly distracting that a large crowd formed and students were late for class. I'd like to hear your take on the story. Would either of you care to hexplain?"

"Well Headmaster Giles, Raven and I uh… we kissed in the hallway." Even now, when her spotless academic record is about to be ruined, she's so giddy about the kiss she has to suppress a smile as she says it.

"And I broke a water fountain." Raven adds quickly, as an afterthought.

"I assume you're both aware that kissing, causing a scene in the hallways, and breaking water fountains are against school rules?"

Their guilty looks answer his question.

"We didn't intend to cause a scene." Raven blurts out. "It's not our fault everyone stopped to gawk at us."

Headmaster Giles smiles at her good-naturedly. "I see. So how should we handle this?"

"What do you mean?" Apple asks.

"What punishment do you think is fair for your offenses?"

"According to the school handbook we're supposed to get one afterschool detention and a strike in our disciplinary record for the indecent hallway conduct. And Headmaster Grimm said Raven would get a detention if she broke anything else with magic, and I think I was indirectly responsible for that, so I should get a detention too. So two detentions and one strike for each of us."

"Yes, but I'm not asking for what the handbook says. I'm asking what you personally think is fair?"

"Well I suppose the fair punishment is what's in the handbook. It's what the school founders thought was proper disciplinary action, and it's not my place as a student to argue."

Headmaster Giles stares at her curiously. "That's one way of thinking. Raven, what's your opinion on the matter?"

"I don't really think it's fair for us to be punished for this." She says boldly.

Apple stares at her in disbelief. It's normal for Raven to be combative with the Headmasters, but this is going a little too far.

Headmaster Giles raises an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes. I mean kissing is such a minor offense. It's not like we were fighting or causing a real problem. And we're not the only couple to ever do it. If you're going to give us detention you have to give everyone who's ever broken the rule a detention. Right?"

Headmaster Grimm chuckles. "Well-reasoned Raven. Since this is your first offense I'll let you both off with a warning. "

"We're not being punished? But rule 17 clearly states-"

"Apple, do you _want_ to receive a detention?" Headmaster Giles asks, looking puzzled.

"No no! Of course not!" She says quickly. She feels heat rising off her face. Why is she arguing with him over this?

"However, for the water fountain damage."

"I'm guessing I'll get detention for that?" Raven asks.

"Not hexactly. I've arranged for you to receive hextra lessons with Baba Yaga once a week in place of a detention."

Raven opens her mouth to protest, but stops herself. "That seems fair."

Headmaster Giles gets up and walks towards the door. "Well I think that covers everything. You're free to return to class."

Apple doesn't need to be told twice. She and Raven leave before Headmaster Giles changes his mind. Or worse. His brother shows up and reverses his decision.

"That went better than hexpected." Raven says casually as they walk down the corridor. She nudges her shoulder playfully. "What were you thinking with that 'We deserve detentions because the rules say so.' business?"

"Oh well uh… I thought- I didn't realize that- I didn't want to take advantage of-" She stops stammering, hearing Raven laugh.

"I'm just messing with you Apple. I get it, you like playing by the rules."

"Not all the time!" She says defensively. "I mean I did break rule 17 part C."

'And would like to break it again. Right now. With you.' She thinks to herself.

Raven eyes her with a very soft expression as they reach the main staircase. "That you did. But you also know hexactly what rule kissing in the hallways is so... I think that balances it out."

Apple pouts at her. "Well I'm off to Home-evilnomics. You know, the class that's for rule breakers."

"You have a good time with that." Raven waves at her nonchalantly as she starts up the stairs.

The next chance she gets to talk to Raven, at the end of the school day as she leaves History of Evil Spells, she's looking distressed. "Baba Yaga wants to start those lessons today."

"Sorry?" Apple says, trying to sound sympathetic. Raven might not like that she's getting extra tutoring, but she definitely needs it.

Raven gives her a flat look. "Apple, please don't tell me you forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"Cupid's MirrorCast show! It's today!"

Apple's eyes widen as she gasps loudly. She had forgotten about the show. She'd been too caught up in her own gay crisis to think about giving advice to other gay people. She thinks it's a solid excuse. Too bad she can't actually use it without giving way too much away.

"I'm so sorry! It totally slipped my mind."

"But you can still go right?" Raven stares at her with a pleading look in her eyes. Apple really doesn't want to, but she would feel awful if she let Raven or Cupid down.

"Yes. Don't worry. I'll be there. I can skip newspaper club since I already finished my piece for next weeks' edition of The Griffin."

Raven lets out a sigh of relief. "Thank Grimm. I'd hate to let Cupid hanging like that. I tried hexplaining to Baba Yaga how important this interview is, but she didn't care. It sucks because I was really looking forward to it. I'm so sorry for bailing on you with such short notice."

"Oh don't worry about it. I'll be fine." She smiles with forced enthusiasm.

As they walk Raven's hand brushes against hers. For a fleeting moment Apple thinks she's going to take hold of it, but she doesn't. Despite all of her bravado in the Headmaster's office, Apple can tell Raven is worried about getting caught again. They can't get off with a warning a second time. Apple completely understands this. That doesn't stop her though from wanting desperately to hold her hand.

But she would never actually tell Raven that. As sure as she is that she likes Raven, she's also sure that telling her about her feelings would be the worst possible thing she could do.

As they continue down the corridor, walking side by side and not touching, they pass a table clad in a red and purple tablecloth surrounded by students. Behind it stands Briar, holding a megaphone in one hand and waving a tiny school flag in the other.

"Want to go to tomorrow's Bookball game against Charming Prep? Sign up here for the Bookball Party Bus!"

She already knows about the Party Bus. She'd signed along with Briar and Maddie at the last Royal Student Council meeting, which was devoted to covering the logistics of it. When the bus would leave, how many staff chaperones they would need, if they should use funds from the last Royal bake sale to cover the tickets, or have students pay for them themselves. There was a lot to go over, but by the end of the meeting they'd gotten just about everything squared away.

"Did you sign up for the bus yet?" She asks Raven.

Raven doesn't seem to have heard her. "I uh... have to get going to my lesson. Tell Cupid I am so sorry for skipping out."

"I will." Apple barely has time to finish her sentence before Raven is running off in the opposite direction. She watches, scratching her head and wondering why she was so quick to dash away.

The Ever After High Radio Lab is on the fourth floor, across the hall from the social worker's office. The lab consists of three studios. One is solely for the Radio Broadcasting class, but the other two are shared between the school's five student run shows. Cupid splits her studio with Daring for his show _Daring's Day_ , so the walls are adorned with both pink, paper hearts and mirrors of all shape and size.

Cupid is oblivious to her entrance. She probably can't hear her over the music that must be playing through her large, silver headphones. She taps her fingers along with the invisible beat as she studies a pile of papers. Apple doesn't want to startle her, so she tiptoes over to the desk in the center of the room and taps Cupid gently on the shoulder.

Cupid looks up from the papers and smiles broadly. "Apple! I'm glad you're here. Is Raven with you?"

"No, she couldn't make it. She has hextra lessons with Baba Yaga after school."

Cupid's smile falters. "Oh! I didn't realize she had another commitment."

"It came up on hextremely short notice, and she couldn't get out of it. She says she's really sorry."

"No it's okay. I can make it work. It might even be better this way since I'm short a microphone. I had to loan one out to Blondie."

Apple pushes the chair meant for Raven out of the way and sits next to Cupid. She takes a quick peek at the notes on her desk, but can only make out the word 'script' before Cupid is shoving a microphone and headphones in front of her.

"Let me do a quick sound check." Cupid says as she fiddles with the soundboard on the side table next to her desk. "I think I have everything set up, but I want to be sure. Say something into your mic."

Apple puts on the headphones and leans in to speak. "Testing testing. One two three testing."

"Perfect! We're all set to go live. Now let me just walk you through today's show. You've listened to the show before right?"

"Of course."

Cupid smiles, looking pleased at her answer. "Then you know the basic format. I start off with a short discussion on today's theme, which you already know is LGBT relationships."

"Was I supposed to have anything prepared?" She asks.

"No, but if you have something I'm sure we can make time for it."

"Oh no! I don't. I was just wondering."

"Well you're allowed to jump in anytime during my monologue. Then of course is the q and a. That's where I really appreciate your hexpertise."

"Yeah. Hexpertise." She bites her bottom lip and knits her eyebrows. She's a hexpert alright. A hexpert at panicking over her gay thoughts.

Cupid puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't be nervous. I know you're going to be hexcellent."

"Thanks." She wills herself to smile.

"Here's a copy of the script for you to look over. Let me know if you have anything to add. I'm going to pop out for a sec to get a bottle of water. Do you want anything?"

She shakes her head.

Apple reads over the script, hoping it will calm her nerves. Her eyes glide over the words, but nothing sinks in. She has to keep going back and rereading every sentence. She's barely through the introductory paragraph when Cupid's hovering over her with two bottles of water.

"I know you said you didn't want any, but you'd be surprised how easily your throat can dry out."

"Thanks." She says, and takes the bottle from Cupid's outstretched hand.

"We go live in about a minute. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." She lets out a nervous breath.

"Did you read over the script?" Cupid asks.

"Yeah. It was good. I'll say something at the end." She hopes after hearing Cupid's part she'll be able to improvise something coherent.

Cupid nods, and puts her headphones on. She follows suit, and watches as the 'On Air' light above the door illuminates. She hears the opening theme music play over her headset, wishing it would go on forever.

"Hello Ever After High!" Cupid says as the music fades. "Welcome to today's edition of Love Advice! I'm your host C.A. Cupid, with my special guest, Apple White."

"Hi everyone." She says into her microphone. She waves, then remembers people can't see her and stops.

"Apple here is going to help me talk about today's discussion topic, LGBT relationships. Now, before all of my straight listeners tune out, this affects you too. Relationships among gays, bisexuals, asexuals, and other sexual minorities present their own set of unique challenges, but in a lot of ways they aren't really so different from heterosexual ones. I'd like to start off telling you all a story my Father told me when I was little."

Cupid reflects on her time growing up on Mount Olympus. There, same-gender relationships are considered just as normal and healthy as heterosexual ones, and many of her Grecian relatives openly identify as queer. Apple listens to her talk without interrupting. She was afraid she might get nervous and tune Cupid out, but she finds her words are quite comforting and helpful. It's inspiring to know that there are other queer people out there doing amazing things.

"My Great-Grandfather Zeus, the king of the gods, likes to remind people that despite being married to a woman, he is pansexual and proud of it. Though I don't recommend his method of throwing lightning bolts at people who give him a hard time about it."

Apple chuckles at this a little louder than she intended. "When I'm Queen I promise not to take on any of Zeus's methods."

Cupid continues on, but this time instead of listening she gets lost in a day dream. She imagines herself 10 years from now. A strong ruler and proud monarch. Her kingdom is flourishing, and her people adore her. Ruling along with her is her clever and beautiful wife. Her Queen. It's almost too good to be true. Can she really have that?

"And now I invite my guest Apple to share some of her thoughts on the subject." Cupid says.

"Uh…" She tugs at her shirt collar. Was it always this hot in the studio? She takes a sip of water to buy some time, as she hasn't thought of anything to say.

"I'd just like to say thank you. To everyone. I was really nervous about coming out and revealing our relationship because I wasn't sure how everyone would react, but you've all been so wonderlandiful. It's incredible to see everyone so tolerant and accepting. You all prove that it doesn't matter what your orientation is, or if you're a royal or a rebel. Everyone deserves love and happiness. And making an effort to understand our differences will only bring us closer."

She stops before she can fumble out any more nonsense. She didn't intend to word-vomit out an overly-preachy ramble on royal and rebel relations, but that's where she ended up.

Much to her surprise, Cupid seems moved by her statement. "I couldn't have said it better Apple. Love is so powerful that it can bring even the most different of people together. But now it's time to move on to everyone's favorite segment, ask Cupid! Got a question? Need advice on your romantic life? Call us now, and we'll do our best to help you out."

Of the six pink phones in Cupid's studio, four of them light up immediately. Phones number five and six follow suit a few seconds later. Cupid presses a button on her soundboard to answer one of the phones.

"Alright caller you're on air with Cupid and Apple. What matters of the heart can we help you with?"

"Yeah, I had a few questions for Apple." The voice comes out deep and distorted. This is purposeful of course, to protect anonymity. There's no way Apple, or any of Cupid's listeners, would be able to identify who's on the other end.

"What can I do for you?" Apple's heart races. She hopes the listeners can't hear her heavy breathing.

"So are you really gay, or is this all some stunt to get attention? Because I heard you- I mean, I was talking to Duchess Swan, and she said she heard you say that your relationship is fake."

Well, that's certainly one way to start an interview. Apple sees her worried expression reflected back at her from the mirrors on the wall.

"Do I really have to answer this?" She whispers, hoping her voice isn't picked up by the microphone. Cupid shakes her head and mouths the word no.

"Uh… Caller, I'd be happy to give you some advice if you need it, but I'm not going to answer questions about my personal life."

The caller immediately hangs up. A dial tone plays for a few seconds before Cupid switches the phone off.

"A friendly reminder that this show is all about advice, not gossip." Cupid says. Apple watches as two of the phones cease their blinking. Cupid presses another button on her switchboard. "Let's take the next call. Hello you're on air!"

"Hi Cupid, Apple." The voice says.

"What can we do for you today?" Cupid asks.

"Well I'm not gay, but I do have a question. Do you think you can help me?"

"That's what we're here for." Cupid says cheerily.

"Okay so I have a crush on a really good friend, and I want to tell them how I feel. But I'm scared if I do it'll ruin our friendship. How can I tell them I like them and not mess things up?"

"Today's your lucky day caller. We have a hexpert on that topic right here. Apple, you recently confessed your feelings for a friend. Do you have any words of advice?"

Hexpert? More like fellow person experiencing the same problem. If she were to be brutally honest she'd tell the caller 'Don't say anything. Keep your feelings to yourself, buried deep down where nobody can find them and wait for this to pass.' But Cupid is watching her, and she knows that's not the right answer.

"Communication is key in any relationship. I think the best thing you can do is tell your friend about your feelings, but be very clear that their friendship is more important than any romantic relationship. Even if they don't feel the same way, you'll feel better once you get it off your chest."

"I 100% agree with Apple." Cupid says. Apple is more than happy to let Cupid take hold of the call and walk them through some ways to start that conversation.

Apple doesn't have advice for the next few callers. One person needs help getting over an ex-girlfriend, the next wants to break up with their current boyfriend but doesn't know how. Following them is a boy who likes the same girl as one of his friends, a girl who wants general advice on how to get a boyfriend, and a girl who needs help picking out an anniversary present. Apple chimes in on that one to helpfully suggest that chocolate always makes a nice gift.

"We're almost out of time, so this is our final call. If we didn't get to you this time try again next week, or if it's a real emergency you can always get in touch with me through my email cacupid . Okay caller you're on with Cupid and Apple, how can we help you?"

"Hi Cupid. Uh… I had a question for Apple." Even though the voice is distorted she can sense nervousness.

"How can I help you?" She asks.

"Well uh… I think that I might potentially be bisexual. But I'm still not entirely sure. So I wanted to ask you, how do you know that you were queer? And once you know, how do you come out?"

That is a really big question, and she knows she has to word her response carefully. She thinks through what to say in her head. 'I knew when Raven kissed me, but honestly I've known for months and months and kept pushing the thoughts away because they were scary.' No, she can't say that. Too honest.

"Well I figured it out pretty recently, but like you I questioned it for a while. There were some really helpful books in the lifairy. A passage from one of them that struck me was that straight people don't spend a lot of time thinking about their sexuality, whereas people who aren't straight, or end up not being straight, think about it a lot. So if you find yourself constantly asking the question 'Am I bisexual?', than the answer is probably yes."

"I'll put a list of all the books Apple recommends on my website." Cupid chimes in.

"So the second part of my question? What's the best way to come out?"

"There's no right or wrong way to do it. And you don't have to say anything until you're ready. I came out by openly dating Raven, and let people draw their own conclusions. I'd suggest starting by telling someone you trust. A friend or a family member for instance. Sit them down somewhere you're comfortable, and tell them what you just told us. Anyone who really cares about you will accept you no matter what."

"Thanks Apple! I really appreciate your advice." The caller says before hanging up.

"Well folks that's all the time we have today. Thanks so much for tuning in. I'll see you all next week." Cupid flips a few switches, the 'On Air' light goes out, and the show is over.

Apple takes a huge drink from her water bottle. That last question left her feeling particularly parched. Half the bottle is gone when she realizes Cupid is trying to give her a high five. She returns it clumsily, and she gives a tiny smile.

"That was hexcellent." Cupid grins at her.

"Thanks." She wipes her brow with the back of her hand. She's sweating pinballs.

"Everything okay?" Cupid asks. "You have worry flurry lines all over your face."

She shrugs. "It's just a little weird to be giving out advice to people. Since I'm still kind of coming to terms with this whole-" It takes her a moment to get the word out, "gay thing myself."

"Well I think you did a really good job."

Apple isn't sure how to respond. Fortunately she doesn't have to, as she is interrupted by the studio door opening with a loud clang. Dexter appears in the doorway, holding a small microphone with his good arm. Cupid sits up straighter in her chair and fumbles around with the papers on her table.

"Hi Dexter!" Cupid says cheerily as she flutters her eyelashes.

"Hey Cupid. Apple. Blondie wanted me to return this to you."

"Oh! Great! Just go ahead and put it anywhere! Well not anywhere obviously. You shouldn't put it on the floor, and it's impossible to put it on the ceiling. But… oh you know what I mean." She lets out a nervous string of giggles. Apple sees the faintest of blushes creep across her cheeks. Dexter, oblivious as always, places the microphone carefully on the desk without making eye contact with either of them.

"Hey where's Raven? Wasn't she supposed to be on the show today?" Dexter asks.

"She couldn't make it." Apple says, sounding icier than she intended.

Dexter looks disappointed at this. "Oh well uh… tell her to hext me when she gets a chance. I've been trying to get ahold of her." He leaves the studio, closing the door behind him as gingerly as possible.

Cupid heaves a heavy sigh, and stares longingly out the studio window as Dexter walks away. "I wish Dexter would move on. He'll be so much happier when he does. Those feelings aren't doing him any good."

"I guess it's easier said than done." Apple says, thinking about her own feelings for Raven that she really shouldn't be having.

"Yeah. It is." She says, a little wistfully.

"Cupid?" Apple asks, after a considerable silence has passed.

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you think Raven likes Dexter?" Her face burns as she asks it. She looks away and tucks a long lock of hair behind her ear.

Cupid stares at her in understanding. "Oh Apple you don't have anything to worry about! Raven's feelings for Dexter are a thing of the past."

"But she does- err… did like him?"

"I think so, though I can't say for sure. She's a bit coyer with her feelings than you or Dex. You two both had rather obvious crushes on her, no offense."

She winces. Add Cupid to the ever-growing list of people who knew she was gay way before she did.

Cupid continues, "But like I said, those feelings were a thing of the past. She's clearly over Dexter."

"How do you know?"

Cupid laughs airily. "If she still liked him she'd be dating him. Instead you two are a couple, and it's plain as day that Raven adores you."

Raven adores you.

That's all that runs through her head for the rest of the day. She's in shock. The school's resident love expert thinks that Raven has feelings for her. Real feelings for her. It's probably the best news she's ever received in her life. Like finding out every day of the year is now her birthday and Christmas and Valentine's Day.

So what if Dexter likes her too, and that she may have had feelings for him in the past? It's not like they could act on those feelings now. She has Raven all to herself.

That night she's too distracted to get her Princessology thronework done. She can't stop thinking about Raven and what Cupid said. But her thoughts go interrupted as her phone rings. She picks it up, annoyed at whoever is keeping her from such a pleasant daydream. Then she reads the caller ID and all thoughts of Raven get ejected out of her head.

It's her parents.

She slides her phone to accept the call. "Hello?"

"Hello Apolline."

She lets out an overdramatic huff. "Dad, nobody calls me Apolline."

"Well it's a good thing my name is Nobody."

She giggles. "Dad your name is Valor, and you usually shorten it as Val."

"And Grandpa Charming still calls me Valor. If my Dad can call me by my full first name, so can yours."

"Alright fine. Where's Mom?"

"She's wrapping up a conference call. She'll jump in soon. Oh wait! I think I hear her coming now."

Another voice joins their conversation. "Apple dear how are you?"

"Hi Mom. I'm doing well."

"Are you? I got a call this afternoon from the Headmasters saying you were in their office today. Would you care to hexplain?"

Apple holds her MirrorPhone in a vice-like grip as an uncomfortable layer of sweat forms on her palms. Of course her mother knows about her meeting. She keeps track of everything from her grades to her popularity standing. It's a wonder how she hasn't found out about her "relationship" with Raven. She's not sure how, but she wants to personally thank whatever force is responsible for keeping her in the dark about it.

"Well it wasn't anything serious. And I didn't get into trouble over it."

"What was it about Apple dumpling?"

"Inappropriate hallway conduct." She mutters.

"What kind of inappropriate hallway conduct?"

"Uh…" Oh dear, how was she going to explain this one? How much do they already know? If they even suspected that their perfect, princess daughter was dating her fairytale villain, her _female_ fairytale villain, they would not be sounding so casual right now. Or maybe they already know and they're trying to get her to admit it. Then after she does they'll swoop in like hawks to berate her about it.

She hears her father give a hearty laugh. "Snow dear don't you think you're being a little hard on her? After the number of times we got in busted for doing the hexact same thing."

Apple can't help but smile. Of course her dad, Prince Charming, comes in to save the day.

"Val!" Her mother sputters.

"What? It's true! Don't you remember that one time in our senior year when we-"

"We don't need to tell our daughter that story!" Her mother says swiftly.

"Well I think it's only natural that she and Daring would follow in our footsteps."

"Wait, you think this is about Daring?" She has to stop herself from laughing as a torrent of relief rushes over her. Her secret is still safe. Headmaster Giles must not have said who she engaged in the inappropriate hallway conduct with. If her parents want to think she's kissing Daring so be it.

"Uh… yes. Unless you have some other boyfriend we don't know about."

"No. There is definitely no boyfriend in my life right now." She says through gritted teeth.

"So since you're getting written up for inappropriate hallway conduct, does this mean you two are finally taking your relationship seriously?" Her Mom asks.

"No. We're not a couple. Look Mom, Dad, I'm really sorry. I promise it won't happen again."

"It best not happen again. And what's this about you getting a B on your Chemythstry lab? It knocked your overall grade down to a borderline A minus."

"Oh sorry. I got distracted by something my lab partner did." Her partner was Raven. And the distracting thing she did was have an adorable face. She stared at her too long and accidentally added the wrong chemythical into her potion.

"Well if it keeps being a problem I recommend you switch lab partners."

"I'll do that Mom."

She talks to them a little more about what she's been up to over the past week. Carefully wording her responses so her parents don't get the idea that anything's changed. She's more thankful than ever that she goes to boarding school and she doesn't have to have this conversation face-to-face. She doubts she could look them in the eye.

As her mom describes her day at work her father lets out a loud, deep yawn.

"Sorry Val am I boring you?" Her mother asks teasingly.

"You could never bore me Snow. It's just time for me to head to bed."

"I suppose you're right dear. We do have to be up early tomorrow. The Snow Queen and King are travelling all the way from the Realm of Eternal Winter for a conference. We'll be seeing you tomorrow Apple Dumpling."

"What?" She's confused. Her parents rarely ever come to visit. They're both always so busy.

"At the bookball game Sweetie. The Charming Preparatory Academy for Future Gentlemen is only a half hour away so we bought tickets."

"Oh. I won't be at the game." She lies. "I uh… have a ton of thronework to get done."

Her father sighs. "Apolline, I know you want to get the best grades possible, but it's okay to take a night off every once and a while. Even your mother would agree."

"Well this is a really big project, and the lifairy will be empty so I can concentrate."

"I suppose that makes sense. In that case, we'll catch up soon. Goodnight. Love you."

"Love you more." She says, and swipes the phone to end the call.

All of those pleasant feelings from earlier today have dissipated, and she can't will herself to bring them back. Not with her parents so hot on her trail. She never wanted them to find out about this. She craves her parents' approval more than anything. If they found out that she was fake-dating Raven, and along the way discovered she was gay and had true feelings for her. Well, she can only imagine the reaction. Her father would refuse to believe it, and her mother would probably die from the shock.

She shoves away her Princessology thronework. There's no way she can hocus-focus on it now. She can hear her mother chiding her in her head about neglecting her duties, but she doesn't care. She takes out her diary, and confides in her inanimate best friend.

She decides that night it's best to follow through on what she told her parents and skip the game. She was so looking forward to going, especially now since she understands Bookball better thanks to Briar. But it's her own fault she's in this predicament. She told her parents she wasn't going to go, and if they saw her at the game they wouldn't react well to her lie. Even more so, if she went she would probably be on the arm of Raven Queen, maintaining their illusion of dating to their peers. And if her parents saw her doing that her life would end right then and there.

The first thing she does the next morning, even before she finds Raven to eat breakfast, is track down Briar and cross her name off the Bookball Party Bus list.

"Aww… how come you changed your mind?" Briar asks, obvious disappointment in her voice.

"Thronework." The lie worked with her parents, chances are Briar will buy it to.

She laughs. "I swear Apple, sometimes you're too studious for your own good."

"Well with the school so empty it'll be quiet and I'll get a lot of work done."

"Actually a lot of people aren't going. Justine and Duchess can't miss dance practice, Maddie and Kitty are working, most of the Merry Men were banned because their hotdog eating contest last week got out of hand, and Raven's staying behind for unknown reasons."

"I didn't know she wasn't going."

"Well she keeps dodging me whenever I ask. So I assume she doesn't want to go and doesn't want to make a deal about it. Anyway I gotta jet. Headmaster Grimm wants to go over Party Bus details for the one hundredth time. Hext me this weekend!"

"Will do!" She smiles as her best friend scrambles off.

She usually has to wait for Raven to meet her for breakfast, but today she's arrived at the Castleteria doors before her. And, much to her displeasure, started up a conversation with Dexter.

That uncomfortable feeling she gets in her stomach whenever Dexter is around finally makes sense to her. She's jealous. Even though Cupid assured her she has nothing to worry about, she still can't shake the feeling that something is up between them.

She approaches them slowly, hoping they won't notice her and continue talking. She knows eavesdropping is rude, but her curiosity outweighs her desire to be polite.

"We don't have to make a big deal about it Dexter. How about we just pretend it never happened?"

"I guess we can do that." Dexter sounds agreeable, but Apple senses that he doesn't want to forget whatever it is they're discussing.

Raven locks eyes with her. Startled, she tries to look as innocent as she can. If Raven noticed she was listening in on their conversation, she doesn't seem bothered by it. In fact, she seems downright ecstatic to see her.

"Apple! Sweetie how are you?" She slinks an arm roughly around her waist, causing her to let out a tiny squeak.

"Good. How are you guys?"

"Fine! Really excited for tonight's game!" Dexter says with what Apple's fairly sure is fake enthusiasm. "I can't play, but I'll be on the bench cheering us on to victory!" He glances down at his watch. "Oh would you look at the time! I'd better get going."

In his haste to leave he smashes his shoulder (the good one, fortunately) against the doorframe to the Castleteria and lets out a tiny yelp of pain.

"Oh! Are you okay?" Apple asks.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." He winces, and looking embarrassed, he scurries off down the hallway. Apple watches with a quizzical look on her face. She looks for a reaction from Raven, but her expression is oddly blank.

"What's up with you two?" Apple asks as they join the line of students getting breakfast.

"Nothing! What would make you think something's up between us?"

"You just seem kind of tense around each other. Did something happen?"

"It's nothing. Nothing important anyway. Dexter just… said some things to me while he was high on painkillers in the hospital."

Apple lets out a tiny laugh as she grabs a yogurt cup. "Oh that's all. I didn't get around to visiting him myself, but I've heard stories. Briar and Rosabella said he thought their card was a sandwich, and he tried to eat it."

She doesn't mention Dexter, or bookball, to Raven for the rest of the day. Raven doesn't either. She's a little hurt that Raven never admits she's not going to the game, but she must have her reasons for it. After all, she to is keeping mum that she changed her mind about going, and the reasoning behind it.

She's not sure where Raven spends her Friday night. Her dorm room probably since Faybelle isn't around and she can have some peace and quiet. She heads to the lifairy to get some work done. She may as well turn her lie into the truth.

As much as she tries to be productive, her mind just isn't into thronework. It's Friday night. She should be out having fun, not cooped up in the lifairy. So after an hour of attempting to study she drops her hextbook in favor of _The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens_.

"Interesting choice of literature." She nearly jumps out of her skin as Kitty materializes behind her.

"Kitty?" She squeaks, then covers her mouth for being so loud. She looks around for the step-lifairians, then remembers they're chaperoning the bookball trip. Professor Piper is monitoring the lifairy tonight, and he's got his earphones in so he can't hear a thing.

"You know, I thought you might have been lying when you said you read this book on Cupid's show. But it seems you were telling the truth. Which means you actually are questioning your sexuality. Which means…" A wicked grin spreads across her face. "Ahh… just as I thought."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, just thinking out loud."

Apple takes a deep breath, mustering up as much courage as she can. "I know you know about me and Raven."

Kitty rolls her eyes. "Everyone at this school is the worst at keeping secrets. You two are no exception."

"Are you going to tell anyone about us?" It's a dumb question, considering she has tried to tell the school about them already, but she feels compelled to ask it anyway.

"I wouldn't dream of exposing you. I just want to add a little chaos into the mix. We can't have things going too smoothly now can we? Oh by the way, you're welcome for the kiss." She says before vanishing, leaving her to stare confused and transfixed on the spot she once occupied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plan was always to have Apple's parents show up in this chapter, but their part was heavily edited to fit Snow's Dragon Games personality. (I know I said nothing after Spring Unsprung is canon, but here I made a tiny exception.)
> 
> Apple's name being short for Apolline is just a headcanon of mine because let's be real here, who in their right mind names their kid Apple? And her Dad's name just follows suit with the whole heroic adjective thing popular with the Charming families.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert Rose from Titanic 'It's been 84 years' gif.*
> 
> So... I do want to be honest, my heart quite isn't as into this fic as it used to be. I still want to finish though! Even if it's just for the sake of finishing. And I'm still giving it 100%. It's just pretty low on my list of priorities.
> 
> Also some of the delay was that I had to write a song and I don't know how to write songs. It's really bad but just pretend it's really good for the sake of the story.
> 
> In the rush to publish this I probably overlooked some grammatical errors. I'll fix 'em later.

The Ever After High music wing is equipped with ten practice rooms.  Each is about the size of a broom closet and houses a chair, music stand, and relatively in-tune piano. The doors are made of glass so everybody can see inside, and even though they’re supposed to be sound-proof, everyone can hear you practicing.

Raven always uses the same practice room, the second room on the left with the coffee stain on the carpet. She’s grown fond of her little bubble. She can think freely here.  The practice rooms used to give her anxiety.  She hated the idea of people watching and listening to her practice, silently judging her abilities.  But over time she’s grown more confident in her music and herself, and learned from experience that everyone is too wrapped up in their own thing to pay attention anyway.

Though tonight her being self-conscious wouldn’t have mattered much.  She’s the only person here.  Everyone else is at the bookball game.

Raven strums out the melody she’s scrawled onto her piece of sheet music.  It sounds muddy and disgusting.  She scowls.  Everything she writes is wrong.  She’s composed this beautiful symphony in her head, but no matter what combination of notes and chords she puts on paper, she just can’t bring it to life.

She scratches out what she’s written and tears a hole in the paper in the process.  Grimm, she can’t even write properly tonight.  Seeing that there’s nothing to salvage she crumbles it up into a ball and chucks it into the nearly overflowing wastebasket.  It bounces off the rim and lands silently on the carpet.  She really shouldn’t tell Ashlynn how many trees she’s killed tonight trying to write this stupid song for Apple.

Writing this would be easier if she had a clear picture of Apple’s taste in music.  To Raven it seems as though she likes everything.  She has Lana Spell Rey and Katy Fairy posters hanging on her dorm room wall.  She listens to classical music when she studies, sings Frank Spellnatra in the shower, and whistles show tunes on her way to class.  She’ll probably love anything Raven writes, but that doesn’t give her anything to work off of to jumpstart her creative process.

Raven’s jaw clenches tight.  She wants to bash her head against a wall and force the music out of her brain.  Instead she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in, trying to keep her temper in check.  She doesn’t want to let lose any magical energy from stress or frustration.  Baba Yaga says the secret to controlling her magic is controlling her emotions.  In their private lessons they’ve been doing deep breathing and meditation exercises.  Raven’s still getting the hang of them.  She’s never been one to sit quietly still for extended periods of time.

When she feels calm enough Raven opens her eyes and takes out her phone to check the time.  Her eyes widen.  It’s almost 8:30.  She’s been here for nearly 3 hours and she has nothing to show for it.

A notification pops up on her phone screen saying she has two missed hexts.  Both of them are from Dexter.

Sent today at 7:02 PM

_Where are you sitting?  I don’t see you in the bleachers._

Sent today at 7:31 PM

_Briar says you aren’t at the game. What’s up?_

Raven sighs.  She wishes Dexter hadn’t opened this Pandora ’s Box of feelings.  It’s all he wants to talk about, and it’s exhausting.  She wants their relationship to be uncomplicated.  She doesn’t want to keep losing sleep thinking about whether she _likes_ Dexter or just likes him.  She misses simply having him as a friend.

She decides it’s time to call it a night.  If she hasn’t gotten anything productive done yet she probably isn’t going to start now.  Plus she promised Professor Piper she’d be out of here by eight.  So she slings her guitar over her shoulder and heads for the lifairy to let him know he can lock up.

When she gets to the lifairy she finds it deserted.   It’s not too surprising, but she’s never been here when it’s so empty before.  It’s usually buzzing with quiet life and activity.  Now all the study tables are empty, and the only sound she hears is the crackling fireplace.

Raven approaches Professor Piper at the checkout desk.  His eyes are shut and he taps his fingers along with the music playing through his headphones.

“Hexcuse me.  Professor Piper.”  Raven says to him.  When he doesn’t respond she tries again, this time a little louder. “Professor Piper!”

His eyelids fly open and he wears a startled expression on his face.  He takes off his headphones.  “Sorry Raven.  Do you need something?”

“Just letting you know I’m done in the practice hall.”

He looks up in surprise at the big clock on the wall.  “Well would you look at that? Tchaikovsky just makes the time fly by.  It’s probably time to lock up the lifairy too.  Hexcuse me, Apple!”  Professor Piper calls.  There tucked away by a fireplace sits Apple White in an armchair with a book in her lap. Raven missed her at first glance.  She assumed she’d be at the game with everyone else.

Apple looks up from her book. “Yes Professor Piper?”

“I’m going to lock up for the night.  Do you want to check anything out first?”

She shakes her head, and starts to gather her belongings.  She takes her time putting the books back onto their proper shelves.  Raven wonders if she should help her.   Instead she just watches her move nimbly from aisle to aisle.  When she reaches them at the front entrance she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and shoots Raven a sheepish, embarrassed look.  Like a kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“Thank you fairy much for keeping the lifairy open for me.”  She says to Professor Piper.

“It was no trouble at all Apple.” He says. He pulls out a set of silver keys from his pocket and sticks one of them in the door.  “You girls have a good weekend.”

“You too.” They say in unison as he retreats down the hall.  She and Apple make their way to the main staircase.

“So... were you working on that thing for muse-ic class?”  She asks and motions at the guitar case strapped to her back.

“Mhmm.”

“How’s it going?” Apple asks.  Raven throws her shoulders back and groans in response.  Apple smiles at her good-naturedly.  “I’m sure someone as talented as yourself will figure it out.”

“Thanks.”  She says, feeling a little flustered by the compliment.  “How did things go for you in the lifairy?”

Apple frowns. “I got… distracted and I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked.”

“Well it’s Friday night.  I’d get distracted too if I was doing thronework or whatever.  Please tell me you’re not going to do more work when you get back to your room.”

“Probably not.  I think I’m just going to browse the MirrorNet until I get tired.”  Apple sighs.  “I really should get something done though.”

Raven laughs.  “Apple, if anyone deserves a night off it’s you.”

“No, you don’t understand.  I have ever so much to do.  Besides my thronework I have to go over the layout for next week’s edition of The Griffin and start the Royal Student council’s annual club review and budget allocation.  Did you know there are over 60 school approved clubs and activities?  Plus there at least 12 new activities that need uh….”  She trails off and looks directly at her.  “I think you missed your floor.”

“Huh?” Raven stares at her in confusion.  Then she looks at the door in front of her and realizes she’s climbed all the way up the stairs back to her old room. As though she still lived there.

“Oh, sorry.  Force of habit.” She says, feeling a blush creep across her face.

“It’s fine.” Apple says, and lets out a little chuckle.  Raven smiles, then laughs along with her.

“You want to hang out for a little while?” Raven asks.  “I mean I’m already here.”

Apple’s smile falters.  “Mmm… I don’t know.”

“Why not?  It’s not like you have other plans.”

Apple bites her lip.  “Well… are you sure we’re allowed to be in the same room alone together?”

Raven rolls her eyes.  “Apple, this isn’t the 18th century.  We don’t need a chaperone every time we hang out.”

“I know, but the rules about curfew say-”

Raven interrupts her. “Nobody’s here to enforce those rules.  Besides, it’s not like we’re going to do anything warranting chaperoning.  Unless you want to.”

It was a lame attempt at humor on her part.  Still, after the words come tumbling out of her mouth, she wonders what would happen if they did.  What would it be like to really kiss Apple White?

She shakes those images out of her brain.

“Oh Raven you kidder.  You and your silly, silly jokes.”  Apple’s face goes stark white, then cherry red, and she lets out a string of uncomfortable, high-pitched giggles.  Raven’s afraid she may have broken her.  Straight people are weird.

With trembling hands Apple fishes her keys out of her bag and unlocks her door.  She doesn’t protest as Raven follows her inside and makes herself at home. She leans her guitar case on the entryway wall and flops onto Apple’s bed.  Apple joins her.  She sits on the edge with her back stiff and straight.  Even when relaxing her posture is impeccable.

“So is there anything in particular you want to do?” Apple asks.  “I could queue up some videos on my MirrorPad?”

“How about some music?” Raven suggests.  Maybe this will give some her inspiration for her song.

“Okay.  What do you want to listen to?” Apple asks.

“Surprise me.”

Apple scrolls through her MirrorPhone to find a song and plugs it into the speaker on her nightstand.  A few moments later music fills the room, masking their momentary silence.  It takes Raven a few seconds to recognize the artist.  Arctic Flying Monkeys, which isn’t at all what she was expecting.

“Something wrong?”  Apple asks. She looks at Raven with a pondering expression, eyes wide and lips parted ever so slightly.

Raven shakes her head quickly.  “I just never pictured you as an alt-rock fan.”

Apple shrugs. “Well you said surprise me.”

“What kind of music do you like Apple?” Raven asks.

“All kinds.”

“Yeah, but any kind in particular?”

Apple thinks a moment, pursing her lips and tapping her finger on her chin. “I don’t know. I like love songs.  Does that count?”

Raven sighs.  That’s probably the best answer she’s going to get out of her.  She decides to steer the conversation in a different direction.  “So how come you didn’t go to the game tonight?  I thought you were supposed to be Miss School Spirit.”

“I uh… had thronework to do.” She says too quickly.

Raven glares at her.  “Apple, I know you’re a nerd, but even _you_ aren’t that big of a nerd.”

She’s quiet for a moment, and her posture starts to slouch.  She swings her legs over the edge of the bed to sit cross-legged.  “You’re right.  There is another reason.  I’m not very proud of it though.”

“What?  I won’t judge you for it, you know?”

She gives her a timid nod. “I skipped the game because my parents were going to be there and I didn’t want them to find out about our… relationship.  If they saw us acting all couple-y I don’t think they’d react well.  I’m sorry Raven.  It’s just easier for them not to know.  Even if I told them it’s fake, I still don’t think they’d get it.”

“Hey, don’t worry.  I get it. I know how uptight your parents can be.  And I’m not like, insulted or anything that you don’t want to tell them.”  Raven laughs good-naturedly.  This actually explains a lot.   Maybe the reason Apple’s been so off lately is because of her parents and their ridiculously high expectations. Being gay or bi or ‘hexperimenting’ probably doesn’t fit into their 10 year plan for her.

“Thanks.”  Apple smiles.  “Have you told your parents about us?”

Raven shakes her head.  “I’m definitely not telling my Mom, but I might tell my Dad.  He'll probably get a kick out of it.”

“Really?  He wouldn’t think it was weird?”

“No.” She says quickly, then thinks a little harder on it.  “Okay, maybe he’d think it’s a little strange, but he’s a pretty open-minded guy.  I think after I explained it he’d understand.”

Apple hesitates a moment.  “He uh… wouldn’t think it’s weird that you’re pretending to date a girl and not a guy?”

“Well maybe that _you’re_ the girl I’m pretending to date, but not girls in general.  I… I actually came out to him as pansexual a while ago, so it wouldn’t be that shocking to him.”  Raven feels her throat constricting as the words escape her mouth.  She feels like she confessed some deep dark secret.  She’s never had trouble talking about her sexuality before.

“You’re pansexual?” Apple’s eyes widen, and a tiny smile creeps across her lips.

“Yeah.  Sorry I didn’t mention it sooner.” Raven says sheepishly.

“No, it’s fine.  You don’t have to be out with anyone unless you want to be.”

“I know, but still, I should have said something to you about it.  I just didn’t want to give you the wrong impression. I was worried you might freak out that you were fake dating a girl who’s actually into girls.”

Apple lets loose a deep, genuine laugh. “Oh Raven, that is absolutely, positively, definitely not a problem.”

“Good.  Great.  Because I promise I’ve never thought about you like that.  Not that you aren’t attractive.  I mean look at you.  You’re gorgeous and kind and any guy would be lucky to have you and- I’m going to stop here before I dig myself deeper into this hole.”

Raven tugs at her collar.  Her body temperature feels like it just went up 100 degrees.  Apple looks at her with a puzzled expression, though her downturned eyes almost read disappointment.

“Can I ask you something?”  Apple says, not really looking at her.

“You just did.” Raven says, then laughs. “But sure, go ahead.”

“How did you know you were pansexual?”

Raven thinks about it for a minute.  “It’s kinda weird to hexplain.  I never figured out I was pan.  I just figured out pan was different.  Like, I’ve always thought guys and girls were equally pretty, even as a kid.  And I figured everyone thought along the same lines.  The bigger shock came when I found out most people are straight.”

“So you just always knew?  You never questioned it?”

“Not really.  I am who I am, I like who I like.  I can’t do anything to change it.”

“I wish it was always that easy.” Apple says, a little wistfully, more to herself than Raven.  She wants to ask her what she means by that but she feels her phone vibrate in her pocket.

“Ugh… not Dexter again.” She scowls and reads the hext. “Oh wait he’s updating me on the game.  We won 48 to 16!”

“Woohoo!  Go us!” Apple grins and raises her arms up for a double high-five.  When their palms meet Raven laces their fingers together, and they hold hands for a few seconds.  Raven gazes at her.  The music stops playing and the room is silent.  She can smell Apple’s cherry blossom shampoo.  And there’s that urge to kiss her again.

Raven quickly releases her hands.  “So uh… who are we playing next week?”

“Nobody.  It’s an off week.  But the next week we play whoever wins the Emerald City High vs. Charmington West game.”

“Good.  I could use a break from bookball.”

“Me too.  I have enough going on this week. I don’t need to add planning a bookball game to the list.” Apple chuckles.  “So uh… how are things between you and Dexter?”

“They’re… something.” Raven says, wishing they could talk about something, _anything_ else.

“What’s going on between the you two?”

“Nothing.  Just stupid drama.  Dexter wants to talk about that thing that happened when I visited him in the infirmary, but I want to pretend it never happened.”

Apple’s eyes widen.  “What did he do?  Was it something awful?”

“Oh no!  It wasn’t anything bad.  Not really anyway.”

“What was it then?  I mean – you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but it seems like it’s bothering you.”

“No it’s fine.” She lies.  Talking about this with Apple makes her stomach feel queasy.  It’s her body’s way of telling her this is wrong.   But she takes a shaky breath.  “Dexter uh… he told me he was in love with me.”

“Oh.” She says.  It comes out as a high-pitched squeak and her cheeks tinge pink.  “And uh… what do you think of that?”

“I don’t know.  I mean I like him well enough.  He’s nice, and handsome.”

She giggles. “Nice?  Handsome?  That’s it? You sure don’t sound like a girl head over heels in love.”

Raven flops backwards onto the bed.  “I know!  It’s terrible!  I can’t even string the right words together to sound like I’m interested in him.”

“Maybe that means you aren’t.”

“Maybe.  I dunno.  It’s so frustrating.” She huffs out a hard sigh.  “I used to only think of him as a friend.  Like the idea of him as anything more never even crossed my mind.  Then True Hearts Day happened and I found out he liked me and I kinda started to like him back.  But I thought he was with Cupid and I never did anything about it.   Now though months later I find out he doesn’t like Cupid and is actually into me and I… I just don’t know?”

Apple’s silent a moment.  “I think you two need to have a talk.  It might not be easy, but if you don’t share his feelings, or if you aren’t sure you do, you need to let him know.”

“I don’t know what I’d say to him though.  I’m not sure if I should turn him down or what?”

“Well... do you want to date him?”

“I can’t.  I’m dating you.”

Apple hesitates a moment before speaking.  “We’re not actually dating.  If you wanted to see him secretly or something to figure out your feelings I…I guess I wouldn’t say no.”

“What? No.” Her response is automatic; she doesn’t even have to think about it.  “It’s way too risky with Duchess and Kitty snooping around for proof that our relationship’s fake. Besides, I already have a cute girlfriend, anything more seems greedy.”

Raven takes delight in Apple’s little giggle and the blush that sweeps across her cheeks.

The music playing over the speakers comes to an abrupt halt and is immediately replaced with Apple’s ringtone.  Apple leans over to check the caller ID.  She bites her lip. “It’s my Mom.  I should probably take this.”

Raven nods.  “I’ll get going.  See you later?”

“Of course!”  Apple beams at her.  As Raven closes the door behind her she hears Apple saying hello to her parents.

The next day Faybelle has an all-day mega cheerhexing practice.  Which means Raven has the room to herself until sunset.  It’s about time she finally gives her dad a ring.  The last they spole was when she went home to visit.  They usually talk once a week, but she’s been too busy riding an emotional roller coaster to find the time.

Her dad picks up after the first ring.  Raven immediately launches into her big update.  “Hey Dad! Guess what! I have huge news!”

“Oh?  What’s that?” He asks.

“I have a girlfriend, and you’ll never guess who she is.”

“It’s Apple, isn’t it?”

“How did you know?”  She’s flabbergasted.  She was so looking forward to shocking her dad.

“Just a hunch.” He says. There’s a knowing lilt in his voice that makes her stomach queasy.  Then he chuckles.  “It’s hard to be sneaky when you post everything on your MyChapter page.”

“Oh right!” She says, feeling a wave of relief rush over her.  “Well I left out the part that we’re not actually dating.  We’re fake dating.”

“Fake dating?” He sounds confused. Raven smirks, pleased she has the upper hand in their conversation once more.

“Yeah.  We’re just pretending to be girlfriends to help the royals and rebels get along.”

“And how has that been working?”

“Not bad.  There haven’t been any arguments or conflicts since we started going out.”

“And you don’t- there’s no romantic feelings between you two at all?”

“What?  No!  Of course not!”

“You’re absolutely sure about that kiddo?”

“Yes Dad I’m sure.” Raven says sternly, emphasizing every word.  Still, she feels her face heating up.  “It’s all fake feelings, nothing real. And besides, even if I did like her- which I don’t - Apple’s straight and practically engaged to Daring.”

“If you say so.” He says, and she can practically hear his knowing smile over the phone.  It’s time to change the subject.

“Enough about Apple.  I actually called because I need some advice.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m trying to write a song, but I’m totally dry on inspiration.  What do you do when you’re out of ideas?”

“Hmm… when I’m stumped on a song what I sometimes do is take a break.  Step away from it a little while.  When you come back you’ll be rested and relaxed and able to think more clearly. ”

“Just take a break?  But I wanted to get it done soon.”

Her dad laughs. “Creativity isn’t something you can rush.  Thinking about it non-stop will just get you more frustrated.  And you don’t have to take a whole lot of time off.  Just a few days.  Maybe spend the weekend focusing on other things.”

“I guess I could try that.”

So she takes her father’s advice and distracts herself with video games, thronework, practicing the meditation techniques Baba Yaga taught her without much success, and hanging out with Maddie.  The weather is gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky, and they spend all Sunday morning out on the court playing hextreme croquet.

“Oh!  You’re taking a break!  Are you going to take a whole year off like the Narrator?” Maddie asks, one eye closed as she lines up her shot.

Raven eyes her strangely.  “Uh…  What the hex are you talking about?”

“Oh never mind you wouldn’t get that.  That’s a joke for the audience.” Maddie says, and winks at no one in particular.  Then she whacks her hedgehog and hits the stake with a satisfying click.  “Yay!  I win!”

They stick around to play one more match before heading back to the school for lunch.  As they pass through the main gates Raven sees Cupid and Dexter sitting next to each other by the fountain.  They’re talking excitedly, but she’s too far away to hear what they’re saying.

“Hey I’ll catch up with you in a minute.  I want to talk to Cupid for a sec.” She says to Maddie.  She nods and traipses off toward the main entrance.

Raven starts to approach the pair.  When she gets closer she sees Dexter slide his hand on top of Cupid’s, and she laces her fingers between his.  They share delicate smiles, then continue talking.

Raven stops walking and tilts her head.  Dexter said he and Cupid were just friends, but his body language is telling a different story.  She almost doesn’t want to interrupt them, afraid she’s intruding on something intimate.  She starts heading back towards the main doors when Dexter looks across the way and spots her.

“Hey Raven!” He says.  His attention is locked completely on her.  He lets go of Cupid’s hand.  

“Hi guys.  Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”  She turns to Cupid.  “I wanted to say sorry for missing your show.  I was really looking forward to it.”

“Oh it’s alright.  No hard feelings.  Apple did a hexcellent job! She should consider hosting her own Mirrorcast show.”

“On top of all her other commitments, I’m not sure how she’d find the time.”  Raven laughs and rolls her eyes playfully.  She keeps hearing about Apple’s amazing advice on the show, but she hasn’t yet had time to listen and judge for herself.  “Anyway that’s really all I wanted to say.  I’ll see you guys later.”

“Okay, nice talking with you Raven.” Cupid says and smiles politely at her.  Raven heads back to the main entrance and is almost through the doors when she hears a voice from behind her.

“Raven wait up!”  Dexter calls after her. She turns to seem him scrambling up the stairs.  He approaches her, out of breath. “Can we talk?”

She’s not ready for this conversation yet.  But she can’t keep putting off the inevitable.  Apple’s right, they need to talk things out.  She gives Dexter a shaky nod.

“Let’s go to the computer lab.” Dexter suggests.  She nods again, and Dexter leads her down the hall.  Raven’s palms go clammy as she walks.  She thinks about what she’s going to say, but no good words are coming to mind.  She wishes the hallway was longer so she had more time to prepare.

Dexter holds the door open for her, then closes and locks it once they’re both inside.

“I screwed up Raven.” He says to her.

“Huh?”  She furrows her eyebrows.  That’s not how she was expecting this conversation to start.

“I messed up our friendship by springing my feelings onto you like I did, and I feel awful about it.”

“It’s okay.  I mean you were pretty out of it when you said what you did.”

“I know but still…. that's not the way I wanted you to find out. I’ve liked you for so long Raven.  I wanted it to be special when I finally told you my feelings.  I don’t think either of us were prepared for it.”

“Yeah you can say that again.” She mumbles under her breath.

“But I said it.  It’s out there.  And I can’t take it back.” He scratches the back of his neck with his good arm. “Cupid says I’ve been thinking too much about myself and my own feelings, and not enough about you.  So… I want to know where you’re at with all of this.  Are we going to be okay?  Do you feel the same way I do or something different?”

She takes a breath before speaking.  “I have a lot of feelings for you Dex.  Some of them are platonic, some of them aren’t.  But mostly they’re just really topsy turvy and mixed up.   Besides, even if I knew I have a girlfriend.  I mean she’s not really my girlfriend and I definitely don't have real feelings for her.  But… still.”

“Yeah, my timing was pretty inconvenient, wasn’t it?” He laughs.  They’re silent a moment. Then Dexter opens his mouth to speak. “But what if Apple wasn’t in the picture?  Would things be different then?”

Raven hesitates a moment before answering.  She knows he wants her to say yes, but that’s not the word on the tip of her tongue.  “I don’t know Dexter.  I don’t really deal in hypotheticals.  There’s no point in thinking about stuff that can’t happen.”

Dexter nods.  He doesn’t look completely satisfied with her answer, but he doesn’t press her any further.

“So uh… do you want to get lunch?  Maddie’s probably thinking I fell down a rabbit hole by now.”

“Yeah, lunch sounds good.  I’ll see if Cupid wants to come too.”  He smiles at her.  Some smiles back.  Maybe things can finally go back to normal between them.

When Raven picks up her song again Monday afternoon she hopes her dad’s advice will work.  To her joy it seems to do the trick.  She looks at what she’s composed and sees it more clearly.  She can make better sense of what sounds good and what doesn’t.  Before long she has a solid melody going.

Writing the lyrics are a different story.  She can’t string words together to save her life.  Nothing she writes seems to click.  Slowly but surely the trash bin fills with sheets of paper ripped out from her notebook.

“Hey is someone in here?” She hears Melody’s voice in the hallway, muffled some by the door.

“Yeah it’s Raven.” She sticks her head out the door so she can hear her.

“Oh hey! I was wondering who’d in the practice hall so late. My dad wants me to lock up.”

Raven checks the time on her phone.  Nearly 7 o’clock.  Given the amount of time she spends in the practice hall maybe she should move out of her dorm and live here.  It might actually be better than sharing a room with Faybelle.

“Sorry.  I’ll get going.  Not like I’m going to get anything more done tonight anyway.” She mutters under her breath.

“Whatcha working on?”  Melody asks. She twirls a drumstick lazily around between her fingers and peeks inside her room to read her sheet music.  Raven shoves it into her bag before she can get a good look.

“Nothing important. I’m just trying to write a song, but I’ve hit a roadblock.”

“Ooh do you want some feedback?  I’d love to hear what you got so far.”

“Well. Okay.” She says.  She’s hesitant to share her song.  It feels too personal to play for anyone besides Apple.  But Melody’s one of the most talented musicians in the school, and one of her good friends.

Raven digs out her sheet music from her bag, takes a deep breath, and plays out what she has so far, leaving out those dreaded lyrics.  When she finishes Melody applauds.  Raven smiles sheepishly and gives her a tiny bow.

“Dude that sounds hexcellent!  You’ve got some really solid composition going there.  I don’t know what you need my help for.”

“Thanks.” She says, smiling sheepishly.  “It’s actually the lyrics that are driving me bonkers.  I just can’t write anything that sounds right.”

“Well let’s hear it with the lyrics.”

She clears her throat and starts to sing. “ _A friend like you is hard to come by-_ ”

Melody holds up one finger.  “Okay Raven I’m going to stop you right there.”

“Really?  You don’t want to hear the rest of the verse?”

“Nope I already see the problem.”

Raven quirks an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”

“You’re trying to make this about friendship when it’s clearly a love song.”

She feels a lead brick drop in her stomach.  She nearly chokes on her own tongue.  “What?  No? I wrote it for a friend.  It’s not supposed to be about romance.”

Melody grabs her guitar from out of her lap.  “I’ll play what you’ve written so far, and you listen to it.  I mean really listen.”

Melody plays out her song, and it dawns on her that she’s right.  She hears a song about gratitude and friendship, but she also hears one about love.  The practice room suddenly feels much hotter than she rememberd.

Melody smirks at her when she’s finished.  “See.  Totally a love song.”

“Yeah.  How about that.” She says, more to herself than Melody.

“Anyway, I gotta jet. I’m having dinner with my Dad, Professor Maid Marian, and Sparrow.  I think our parents are trying to set us up.”  She sticks her tongue out and makes a gagging noise.

Raven chuckles.  “Good luck with that.”

“You want me to leave the keys so you can keep going?” She dangles the set of silver keys in front of her.

Raven bites her lip.  “Do you think your dad would be mad?”

“Nah.  I think he was expecting it actually.”  Melody grins and throws the keys at her.  Raven reacts quick enough to catch them.  “Good luck writing.  Lemme know how Apple likes the song when it’s done.”

“I never said it was for Apple.” Raven says quickly, trying not to sound defensive.

Melody raises an eyebrow.  “Who else would you be writing a love song for?”

“Uh… no you’re right. Sorry.  It’s just been a long day.”

Raven sits alone in the practice room lost in thought.  Thinking about music and Apple and why feelings have to be so messy and complicated.

Raven sees she has two options.  Write an entirely new song that could work as a friendship anthem, or stick with the love song.  She doesn’t want to send the wrong message to Apple.  She’s not into her like that.

But she also _really_ doesn’t want to start over from scratch.  Apple likes love songs. It’s the only musical preference she has.  So maybe she can write a love song for her and rationalize it as something she knows she likes.

Raven spends another few hours in the practice hall.  In her mind she thinks about Apple and her hair and eyes and how she makes her feel like she can do anything when they’re together.  That’s what it takes to get the lyrics to come gushing out of her.

When she finally finishes it’s far too late to surprise Apple with the song.  So Raven waits until the next afternoon after her lesson with Baba Yaga is over.  She can barely concentrate on her meditation exercises.  Apple is the only thing on her mind.

She finds Apple in the newspaper room, tinkering with the mock-layout pinned to the corkboard on the wall.  She wears a studious expression on her face, and she’s in deep enough thought that she doesn’t notice her slip in through the open door.

Raven takes a deep breath, trying to quell the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.  This shouldn’t make her feel so nervous.  It’s just a song.  It’s just Apple.

She strums her guitar, filling the silent room with new life.  Apple gasps and turns away from her work to look at her.

“Raven?  What in Ever After are you doing here?” Apple asks.

“Just thought I’d swing by and keep you company while you worked.”  She plays another chord.  Apple giggles.

“Raven this is really unnecessary.”

“Shush.  Let me play you a song.  I owe you for that scarf.”

She starts to play the opening chord, but her fingers tremble and it comes out wrong.  She looks at Apple and she smiles encouragingly at her.  She closes her eyes and starts over.

“ _It’s been said by someone wiser than me_

_That too much sugar will rot out your teeth._

_So what?  I don’t need sugar, don’t need candy or pie_

_Cause something sweeter’s caught my eye_

 

_It’s been said by someone, and I guess that it’s true_

_When you have your cake, you can’t eat it too_

_So what?  I don’t need cake, don’t need a chocolate-y kiss_

_Cause something sweeter’s on my lips._

 

_I’ve got something sweeter than a warm summer’s breeze_

_I’ve got something sweeter than the trees and their leaves_

_It’s sweeter than a song_

_Oh I’ve had it all along_

_Cause my dear that something is you.”_

Raven opens her eyes.  Apple staring at her with an ear-to-ear grin on her face.  She looks more radiant and beautiful that Raven ever remembered.

“Raven that was incredible.  You wrote that for me?”

“Yeah.” Raven feels her heart pounding so fast she thinks it might beat out of her chest.  She can’t stop staring at Apple, and all she can think about is how she smells like cherry blossoms.  Her thoughts are interrupted when she hears a loud clang from behind her.  The copy machine is engulfed in purple flames.  Black ink is spews across the room, staining everything it touches.

“Oh no!” Apple says.  She runs across the room for the fire hextinguisher.  Raven stands petrified in place.  She cradles her face in her hands.

“I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay.  I’ll tell the Headmaster the printer overheated or something.  That way you won’t get into trouble.”

“Thanks. I- I have to go.” Raven says. Before Apple can say anything she’s running out the door.

Baba Yaga says strong emotions can make her magic flare up uncontrollably.  In her case that’s usually anger, but sometimes it’s… something else.  Something she really doesn’t want to think about because she knows it’s not going to end well for her.  She needs a distraction.

She finds Dexter in the computer lab, tinkering with some delicate camera equipment.  He smiles at her as she walks towards his workstation.

“Hey Raven I-”

“Let’s go out on a date.” She says, before he can finish his sentence.  Or before she can lose her nerve.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHss1bjFMJc The song I think Apple decided to play!
> 
> As the daughter of a teacher I can 100% confirm that teachers try to pair their kids up with their coworkers kids.
> 
> Kudos/Comments are appreciated, though I probably don't deserve them.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goal - Finish this by the end of the year. That's one chapter per month, which sounds reasonable, I think.

“So let me get this straight Ms. White, you’re saying the printer just spontaneously burst into flames?”

Headmaster Grimm stares down at her from behind his desk with narrow, disbelieving eyes.  Headmaster Giles stands next to him with his arms crossed and a disappointed look on his face.  Apple squirms in her seat and summons enough courage to look up at both of them. She swallows and bobs her head up and down.

“It was an old printer, and I might have over-worked it by trying to print a few hextra copies of the paper this week.”

Headmaster Grimm frowns.  “And Ms. Queen had absolutely nothing to do with it?”

“No.”  She says, shaking her head.  She reaches up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, but stops short.   Grooming gestures are a tell that someone is lying, she remembers.  If this fake relationship has taught her anything, it’s how to lie her way out of a tough spot.

Headmaster Giles gives her a tiny, sympathetic smile.  “Apple, I know you want to keep your eh… friend from getting into trouble, but if Raven is having problems controlling her magical abilities we need to know about it.  We aren’t going to punish her-”

“Giles!” Headmaster Grimm hisses. “What do you mean we-”

Headmaster Giles holds up a finger and stares at his brother. “We aren’t going to punish Raven for something she can’t control.  Apple, are you sure there isn’t anything else you want to tell us?”

Apple winces.  She knows Raven’s powers are dangerous.  She could hurt someone, or herself, if she doesn’t figure out how to control them. But she knows the Headmasters are clueless about how to help her, and the cold look on Headmaster Grimm’s face tells her his brother’s words are meaningless.  So once again she shakes her head.  

“It wasn’t Raven’s fault.  It was my doing, and I’m sorry.  I promise to pay for any damage or repairs.”

Headmaster Grimm shakes his head. “Goldie Lockes and the _Bookend Gazette_ have generously agreed to donate a new printer to the school.  You were right.  It was old. We’ve had it since before your mother was a student here.”

She nods.  “I’ll have the Newspaper club send them a thank you card at our next meeting.”

Headmaster Giles smiles at her.  “That’s very kind of you, Apple.  Now, if there’s nothing more you want to tell us you can return to class.”

“But Giles!  It’s obvious that-”

“We can’t force her to change her story.”

“We can if we have reason to suspect she’s lying!”

“Milton!  We don’t have any reason to-

As the two of them bicker Apple slips out the door.  She doesn’t have to be told twice. She scurries down the hallway, and hopes the Headmasters don’t summon her back to their office because they changed their minds. 

From the turquoise fumes and the saccharine smell of heart-tree sap circulating in the air, Apple can tell today’s Chemythstry hexperiment has already begun.  She’s glad she familiarized herself with the procedure last night.  She’s certain Professor Rumpelstiltskin won’t give her any extra time to complete her lab work.

“You’re late!” Professor Rumpelstiltskin’s voice booms as she retrieves her lab coat and safety goggles from the classroom closet.

“Sorry Professor Rumpelstiltskin.  I was in a meeting with the Headmasters.”

“Hmmph… a likely story.  Next time you’re late it’s DETENTION!”

“Of course Professor.” Apple gives him a respectful bow.

Professor Rumpelstiltskin hands her a pair of protective dragon hide gloves.  “You and Daring will be working together.”

“But Raven is supposed to be my lab partner!”  Apple’s eyes widen, and she almost loses grip on the gloves.  She wants to know the reason behind this unexpected and inconvenient change.  Had her mother called the school and forced her Professor to change her partner for the sake of her grade?

“You were late!  So she decided to work with Dexter instead.”

Apple turns to her usual lab table and sees Dexter sitting in her usual stool.  He whispers something into Raven’s ear, which causes an adorable grin to bloom across her face.  She lets out a string of giggles.  They’re hunched shoulder-to-shoulder over a Bunsen burner waiting for their solution to boil. She can tell by the light pink color and overly-sugary scent that they added too many drops of heart tree sap.  If she had been here she would have prevented such a foolish mistake from occurring.

“What are you waiting for!  Get to work!  If you don’t’ finish before the bell rings it’s DETENTION!”

Apple nearly jumps out of her skin at her Professor’s voice.  She gathers her belongings and shuffles off to the lab table at the back of the room.  As she passes Raven and Dexter she gives them both a thin, strained smile.

She hates this knawing pang of jealousy that surges through her every time she sees Raven and Dexter together.  Raven is free to have messy, confused romantic feelings for whomever she pleases.  She’s not obligated to reciprocate her hopeless crush.  Apple had expected from the beginning she wouldn’t.  Still, it stung hard to hear she say that she’s _“never thought about her like that.”_

Then again, her words weren’t an outright rejection.  Never thinking about her romantically isn’t the same as not liking her romantically at all.  And right after she said it she went on about how pretty and kind she thought she was.  Plus there was the kiss, and the love song she wrote for her.  Those all have to mean something.  They _have_ to.

Or maybe, she’s reading too much into her actions and only seeing what she wants to see.

Daring’s made little headway on their hexperiment.  He’s set up all the materials on their lab table, and opened his hextbook to the correct page. But instead of starting the procedure he’s staring at his hand mirror and adjusting his safety goggles so they don’t ruin his hair.

“Hey Daring.”  She smiles as she sits down in the stool next to him.

Daring clicks his tongue and points finger guns her way.  “Hey Apple.  Thought I’d wait for you to show up before starting the hexperiment.  I know how much you love Chemythstry.”

Apple rolls her eyes.  More like he knows how good she is at Chemythstry. If she’s here to call the shots they’re guaranteed at least an A-.

“You can measure out the salt and the gold dust powder.  I’ll handle the troll tears and heart tree sap.”

“Sounds like a plan.”  He says, and picks up the salt canister.  Apple reaches across the table for the troll tears and an Erlenmeyer flask.

“Y’know, I got an interesting phone call from my parents the other day.” Daring says as he crouches down to get at eye level with his beaker.

“Oh yeah?”  She says, not looking away from the flask in her hand as she swivels it counter-clockwise.

“They seem to think we’re dating.”

“Hmm?  Why would they think that?”

Daring shrugs.  “They said they heard it from your parents.”

Apple almost drops her flask as she’s reminded of that phone conversation last week.  “Oh Grimm, I told my parents that we _weren’t_ dating. How the hex did they get that twisted?”

Daring chuckles.  “It wouldn’t surprise me if it were _my_ parents who heard them wrong.  My mother’s been saying since Legacy Day that we should take our relationship more seriously.”

Apple frowns.  The last time she spoke with Mrs. Charming she wanted to know if she had come up with names for their future children.  She couldn’t believe she was thinking about _Grandkids_.  They’re sixteen for Pete’s sake.

Daring sets aside the beaker of salt and reaches for the gold dust.  “I was just a little confused why they thought we got caught kissing in the hallway.”

Apple winces.  “Uh… that’s actually my fault.  I kinda did tell my parents we got caught kissing in the hallway.”

Daring purses his lips. “Why?”

“Because they found out I got in trouble for PDA and… I didn’t want to tell them it was with Raven.  Sorry, I know I shouldn’t have dragged you into this mess, but I didn’t think it would get back to you.  And I specifically told them that we weren’t a cou-”

Daring laughs.  “It’s alright Apple.  I actually wanted to tell you that I uh… I went along with it, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, I mean that’s fine, but _why_?” Apple places her flask over the Bunsen burner and shoots him a puzzled look.

“It’s not a bad thing for my parents to think we’re a couple.  It makes them happy to think I’m fulfilling my destiny to be your Prince, and it would keep them from suspecting that I… uh… never mind.”   He gives her a much too enthusiastic grin and goes back to measuring the gold dust.

Apple studies his flummoxed face as he fumbles with the spellectronic scale.  She never thought Daring would be one with secrets.  He’s always so transparent with his thoughts and feelings.  Out of respect of his privacy, and her overall lack of curiosity, she decides not to pry.

“When you have the gold dust measured add it to the troll tears on the flame, but be careful to do it gradually or else it won’t set right.”

Their potion comes out a bright, translucent orange with a citrusy scent, just like their hextbook described.  When they turn in their vial at the end of class Professor Rumpelstiltskin doesn’t have any criticisms for them, unlike most of her classmates who get chastised for the murky, brown solutions in their vials.  Raven and Dexter’s potion is a thick, lumpy black sludge that smells like burnt cookies, and it draws out pure ire from their professor. They’re both lucky they don’t end up with detention.

As the bell rings and class is dismissed, Apple rushes out the door and down the hallway to catch up with Raven.

“Hey Doll face.” Apple smiles and bats her lashes.  “How come you didn’t wait for me in Chemythstry?”

Raven frowns. “Can we not do pet names today?”

“Oh sure.  Sorry.”  Apple bites her lip.  From Raven’s knit brows and stiff posture she can tell she’s in a mood.  “You um… you didn’t answer my question though.”

Raven shrugs. “I didn’t know when you’d be back, and I didn’t want to work on my own.”

“That makes sense.  But let’s partner up next time, okay?”

Raven nods.  “Definitely.  Dexter is kind of hopeless when it comes to chemythstry.  Put him in front of a computer and he’s golden. But put him in front of a chemythstry set and he’s a babe lost in the woods.”

Apple giggles.  “And I love Daring and all, but he spent most of the time gazing at his reflection, and not helping.  I prefer a lab partner who takes a more active role in their hexperiment.”

“And I prefer one who actually knows what they’re doing.” Raven smiles, and laces her fingers around hers.

Apple grins back at her. “We work well together, don’t you think?”

Raven opens her mouth to answer, but before she can get her response out they hear Ashlynn and Hunter’s voices calling their names from behind.  They both turn around to see them running down the hallway hand-in-hand to catch up with them.

“What’s up you two?” Raven asks as they approach.

Ashlynn smiles. “We’re both completely free this weekend, and we wanted to know if you guys would go on a double date with us.”

Raven’s grip on her hand turns suffocatingly tight.  Apple looks up to see her face has gone ghostly pale, but she ignores her strange attitude and beams at her friends.

“Yes, of course we will!  That sounds spelltacular!  Don’t you think Raven?”

“Yeah, sure, sounds like fun. “ Raven wears a smile, but Apple can tell by her wide eyes and downturned brows that it’s forced.

“Great!  We’ll hext you later with the details.”  Hunter says before the two of them continue on toward the grimmnasium for their next class.

“Why the spell did you set us up on a double date?” Raven hisses at her once Ashlynn and Hunter are out of earshot.

“Because I thought it would be fun?” Apple says, giving her a confused look.  She’s baffled at the anger in Raven’s expression.

“Couldn’t you tell I wasn’t interested?”

Apple narrows her eyes and stares at her with furrowed brows.  “Yeah, I saw that you were giving off a vibe, but I didn’t understand _why_ you were giving off a vibe.  Ashlynn and Hunter are our friends, and we’re trying to be, y’know, _public_ about our relationship.  Forgive me for not seeing the problem in going on a date with them.”

“What if I had plans?  Do you hexpect me to just drop everything and go on dates with you?”

“Well, do you have plans?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact I do.  On Saturday I’m… doing something really important.”

“Then we’ll go out on Friday or Sunday.  See, easy fix.  You don’t have to get short with me over it.”

Raven purses her lips and scoffs.  “I have to get to class.”

“Okay.  See you later then.”

“Yeah, whatever.”  She lets go of her hand and stomps off, leaving Apple standing wide-eyed and bewildered in the middle of the hallway.

Raven’s snippy mood continues for the rest of the week. She’s silent as Apple coordinates with Ashlynn and Hunter the details of their double date, aside from announcing those all-too important Saturday plans again. While she manages keep calm on camera when Blondie asks them about their date on her _Relationship Rumorcast_ show Friday morning, she flips out at her afterwards for “forcing” her to do the interview.  At lunch Raven refuses to talk to her, and sits with Maddie and _Dexter_ instead of her and Briar.

“Wait, Raven got _mad_ at you for wanting to go out on a date?” Briar asks before swallowing her bite of pepperoni pizza.  “Did you guys have another argument?”

Apple shakes her head.  “No.  We’ve actually been getting along really well until recently.  This is so out of the blue.  I thought she’d be more hexcited.”

“Yeah, it’s so bizarre.  Why would she be acting like this?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe something else is bothering her?  She’s been under a lot of pressure from all her magical mishaps and hextra lessons with Baba Yaga.”

“I guess, but she shouldn’t be taking out her frustration on you.  Do you want me to talk to her about it?”

Apple shakes her head. “You don’t have to.  She’ll calm down eventually.  Besides, she’s not making so much of a fuss that she won’t go on the date.  However begrudgingly, she said yes.  Tonight we’re going out on our first date.”  

Apple covers her mouth in and attempt to conceal the fit of giggles bubbling up in her throat.  She can feel her cheeks tinge pink and butterflies flying in her stomach.  Her brain knows that it’s not real, but that doesn’t stop her heart from fluttering every time she thinks about it.

Briar chuckles.  “I can see someone’s a little hexcited.  So what are you guys doing?”

“We’re having dinner at The Enchanted Olive Garden.”

“Ooh… I love their breadsticks.”

“I know, they’re so good!  Then afterwards we’re supposed to go for a walk in the Enchanted Forest, but I’m not sure the weather’s going to hold.”  She and Briar look out at the grey, overcast sky through the large castleteria windows.

Briar bites her lip.  “Oh I hope it doesn’t rain.  Melody and I are supposed to go bungee jumping off the East Turret tonight.”

“That sounds… intense.” Apple winces as she opens her bag of pretzels.

“It’s such a rush!  I thought I’d never get the chance to do it again since Headmaster Grimm banned me after the last time.  But Melody is stealing her Dad’s master key so we can sneak up there without them ever knowing.  You guys are like, totally welcome to join us if you want.”

“Uh… that’s okay, I think I’ll stick with activities where my feet remain solidly on the ground.  Besides, I wouldn’t want to crash your evening.  I know you were concerned about becoming a fifth wheel whenever the five of us hang out.”

“I wouldn’t be a fifth wheel.  I’d have Melody with me.”

“Well yeah, but the four of us would be on a date, while you two would just be hanging out as friends.  Wouldn’t that make things a little awkward?”

“Nah, it’d be okay.” Briar says.  A faint, pink flush sweeps across her cheeks, and she looks down at the napkin in her hand she’s torn into tiny pieces.  For some reason, she looks nervous. 

A curious thought occurs to Apple.

“Unless it _is_ a date?”

“No, it’s not.”  Briar lets out an anxious chuckle and the flush on her face deepens to a vibrant crimson.  “But uh… Melody is pretty cute though.  If she wanted to make it a date… I definitely wouldn’t say no.”

Apple’s face bursts into an ear-to-ear grin, and her heart swims with pride for her best friend.  She reaches across the table to pull her into a supportive hug.  She’d never suspected Briar was queer, but then again, she’d only figured out _she_ was into girls about a week ago.  Her “gaydar” left some to be desired.

“Briar, I’m so proud of you!  When did this happen?  How did you know?”

Briar gives her a sheepish smile.  “Pretty recently.  It’s something I’ve been thinking about ever since you and Raven came out with your relationship.   This is all pretty new to me so I’m trying to take things slow.  I’m not sure I’ve found the right label for me yet, but straight definitely isn’t it. ”

“Oh don’t worry, I totally get it.  This is all pretty new for me too.” Apple laughs.  She pulls out of the hug but leaves her hands on Briar’s shoulders.  “I want you to know that I love you and I absolutely support you no matter what.”

“It would be a little hypocritical if you didn’t.” She says, and the two of them share identical laughter.

“I know I know.  I’m just telling you what I wanted my friends to tell me when I came out.”

Briar smiles. “I never said I didn’t appreciate it.”

Apple sits back down and starts eating her pretzels. “Hey, were you the one who called into Cupid’s radio show the other day?”

Briar shakes her head.  “You and Cupid are two of my best friends.  If I needed romantic advice I’d ask you in person rather than airing out my grievances for the entire school to hear.  Not that I’m knocking anyone who does call in but-”

Briar’s words get cut off by a loud, high-pitched wail echoing across the castleteria.

“What the hex was that?” Apple asks.

Briar frowns.  “It better not be another food fight.  This dress is a Vera Wand, and it’s dry clean only.”

Apple gets up from the table and leans over the balcony rail to check out what’s happening below.  At a table by the window she sees Duchess and Rosabella glaring daggers at each other.  She gets a sick feeling in her stomach that some nasty royal/rebel drama is about to unfold.

“Be right back.” She says to Briar as she flies down the stairs as fast as her feet will carry her.

When Duchess sees her approaching frowns and rolls her eyes. “Oh great, here come Apple and Raven to flaunt their perfect royal/rebel relationship.”

“Huh?” Apple asks, confused.  She turns to see Raven approaching them from not far behind.

“We’re not here to flaunt our relationship, Duchess.  Just tell us what happened.” Raven says.

“Rosabella spilled soda all over my General Villainy report.”

Rosabella scowls.  “Duchess, I said I was sorry.”

“I’m sorry isn’t going to fix my report Rosabella.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose. I lost my balance when Daring temporarily blinded me with his smile.”

“Of course you’d blame _Daring_ for this.”

“Hey!  I’m just telling you what happened.   You shouldn’t have kept your thronework on the table where it could get dirty anyway.”

“Hey hey guys!”  Apple says, holding out her arms to separate them.  “Let’s keep it civil here.  Can I see your report Duchess?”

Duchess hands her the sopping wet papers.  Apple tries to read them, but she can’t make out a word from the soda stains.  She attempts to separate the papers so they don’t stick together, but stops, afraid she might tear the pages apart by accident.  She sets them down on a clean part of the table and takes out a napkin from the dispenser in an attempt to blot the soda out.  After a few dabs she realizes the ink is coming right off the pages with the soda.

“Okay, that’s not working.  Why don’t we go to the lifairy and print off another copy?” Apple suggests.

Duchess shakes her head and glares at her.  “Professor Badwolf wanted all of the reports hand-written.  This was the only copy I had.”

“Oh, okay.  Then um…”  Apple taps her chin, trying to think of a logical solution.  There has to be a way to fix this.  

“I can try using my magic to remove all of the soda.” Raven suggests.

Duchess raises an eyebrow.  “You’re not going to like, blow up the whole school by mistake, right?”

Raven frowns at her. “Do you want me to try or not Duchess?  It’s not like you have a whole lot of other options.”

Duchess scoffs. “Fine, go ahead.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Rosabella asks.

“No, just give me some space.”  Raven says.  Apple and Rosabella take a step back from the table.

Raven closes her eyes, raises both her arms, and takes a deep breath.  Purple energy swirls around her hands.  Apple shivers as the air around her turns cold as ice.  A tiny, amorphous blob of soda bubbles up from the page.  Raven grimaces, and her arms shake from the magical strain.  The soda blob pops and spills right back on to the report.

Raven curses under her breath.  “Sorry, let me try again.”

“Come on Raven, you got this.”  Apple says.  She puts a gentle, encouraging hand on her shoulder, and lets it rest there as she makes her second attempt.  

Beads of sweat form on Raven’s brow as she scrunches her face in concentration.  The soda blob reappears and grows in size until it’s lifted off the pages.  Raven levitates it away from the table and it drops with a splash onto the tile floor.

“It worked!” Raven says.  A pleased smile spreads across her face.

Apple gives her shoulder an encouraging squeeze.  “I knew you could do it!”

“Uh… Raven.  I’m really glad for you but…”  Rosabella clutches at her soda-stained skirt.

Raven bites her lip. “Sorry Rosabella.  Let me try uh…”

“Actually, I got this Raven.”  Apple reaches into her purse and retrieves a tiny tin of her stain-removing solution.  Apple dabs the salve onto Rosabella’s soda stain.  It bubbles and fizzes, then dissolves away, leaving the fabric so clean it sparkles.

Rosabella stares awestruck at her skirt.  “Wow, thanks Apple!”

“No problem.  It’s my grandmother’s secret recipe.  It takes the stain out of anything.” Apple turns to Duchess.  “Do you have anything you’d like to say to Raven.”

“Well I’d say thanks, but she doesn’t care enough to stick around so…”

“Huh?” Apple turns to where she’s sure Raven is standing, only to find she’s staring at empty air.  She darts her eyes around the castleteria until she spots Raven back at her seat next to Dexter.

Duchess flashes her a smug smirk.  “It’s funny how your girlfriend likes spending so much time with Dexter.  You’d almost think she’s _interested_ in him.”

Apple can feel her bottom lip quivering, and she doesn’t want Duchess to see her fall apart.  Without another word she turns away in a huff and retreats back to her lunch table.  

Apple agreed to meet Ashlynn and Hunter for their date at 6 PM.  With 15 minutes left she’s is a nervous wreck and nowhere near ready.  She hasn’t even picked out an outfit yet.

Apple rubs her chin and stares in contemplation at her wardrobe.  She has a few new dresses, but would wearing something new mean she’s trying too hard?  Then again, if she wears something familiar would it mean she isn’t trying enough?  Is Raven even going to pay attention to her clothes?

Her heavy scrutinizing forces her to see the flaws in everything she owns.  The sleeves of her cashmere sweater are a tad too short.  Her favorite skirt is fraying at the hem and the pattern’s starting to fade from too many washes.  Her white blouse shows way more low cut than she remembers, though upon further thought she’s not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.  She settles on a red button-down shirt and a high-waist apple-print skirt and hopes that Raven won’t notice she wore it last week for her Kingdom Management presentation.

Her worry flurry continues as she styles her hair and make-up.  She wants to look pretty, but not like she put a ton of effort into looking pretty.  Like somehow she was born naturally looking this radiant and beautiful.  She puts on a coat of glossy, red lipstick, but decides it’s too much and wipes it away, only to reapply it.  She sticks a red decorative barrette in her hair, swaps it for a gold one, a green, the gold again, before deciding not to wear a clip at all and let her curls hang loose.

There’s two minutes to spare when she deems herself ready to go.  She takes a good long look at herself in the mirror.  Grimm, she’s turning into Daring with all this mirror worship.

“Be honest, how do I look?” She asks Bunny, who’s been playing a videogame on her MirrorPad and watching her with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

Bunny looks up and studies her, then gives an approving smile.  “I like the skirt.  Green is a cute color on you.  But I think you’re forgetting something.”  She points down at her bare feet.

“Oh right shoes!” Apple wants to smack herself on the forehead.  She scurries back over to her closet, and studies her shoe rack in a panicked deliberation.  She wishes Ashlynn was here to help her out, but she doesn’t want her friends knowing what a mess she is right now.

“How about the red flats on the bottom right?” Bunny suggests. “Didn’t you say you guys were taking a walk in the forest?  It’d be hard to go on a hike in heels.”

“Yup, looks like the weather’s going to hold out after all.” Apple grabs the shoes and hops out the door and down the hallway as she puts them on her feet.

Raven, Ashlynn, and Hunter are waiting for her by the entryway fountain, talking amongst themselves.  Hunter has his arm wrapped around Ashlynn’s waist, and she’s holding a bouquet of wild daffodils in her arms.  Apple wonders if she should have gotten Raven flowers.  What is the proper protocol when it comes to things like that?  It only occurs to her now that so much of what she knows about dating is based on gender roles that only apply to heterosexual relationships.

“Hey Raven.  Wow, you look gorgeous.”  She says before she can help herself.

Raven’s outfit is the same as this morning except with some new accessories.  A leather jacket, some silver bangles, and dangly feather earrings. She’s tied her hair up into a high ponytail, and her lips are colored deep magenta.   Apple has to tear her eyes away to keep from staring at them, and erases from her mind images of magenta lipstick stains peppered on her lips and cheeks.

“Thanks.  So do you.”

Apple curls her toes inside her shoes, and sweeps her hand over her cheeks to hide her blush.  It’s such a little compliment, but she may as well have said _‘You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.’_

Apple walks side-by-side with Raven as they head into town. Their hands are inches apart. Apple wants to reach out and grab her, but she hesitates and curls her hands into balls instead.  Given Raven’s recent iciness she’s not sure how well received her touch would be. Besides, Raven is always the one who makes the first move. Apple’s not sure she’s ready for that responsibility yet.  It’s okay when Raven does it.  She’s not the one with a hopeless crush.  Apple’s certain if she initiated any kind of physical contact she would give her feelings away.

“After you Mademoiselles.” Hunter says as he holds open the heavy, wooden door to The Enchanted Olive Garden.

Ashlynn giggles.  “Why thank you Hunter. You’re such a gentleman!”

They’re seated in a booth next to the kitchen.  They can hear the cookware clattering and the wait staff yelling out the orders to the chefs.  She and Raven take one bench; Ashlynn and Hunter take the other.  Apple slides in first, and sits wedged next to the wall so she can put some space between herself and Raven.

A cheery waiter comes around to pour glasses of water and take their orders.  They make small talk as they wait for their.  Ashlynn talks about a difficult customer at The Glass Slipper.  Hunter goes on about cheerhexing and bookball practice.  Raven recounts a story that happened on her General Villainy class field trip that would have been an awful experience at the time but has matured enough to be hilarious in hindsight. Apple sits back and listens without adding much to the conversation. Sometimes, it’s nice to let others do the talking.

Their conversation dies down when their waiter delivers breadsticks and a shared bowl of salad.  Apple didn’t realize how hungry she was until she’s filling her salad plate for second helpings.  She’s surprised at how much she can eat.  Raven barely touches the salad, but she goes through a whole basket of breadsticks herself.  

Soon after their meals are delivered, and they continue conversing in-between bites of pasta. Throughout dinner Apple finds herself moving away from the wall and closer to Raven, until their arms are brushing against each other’s.

When they finish dinner their leftovers are boxed up, and their waiter leaves two checks on the table.  Ashlynn fishes out her debit card from her wallet and sticks it in with the receipt.  She and Raven both reach for their purses at the same time.

“I’ve got this Raven.”

“No I really don’t mind.”

“I insist.”

They go on like this.  She can tell by Hunter and Ashlynn’s sidelong glances that they are getting annoyed, though they don’t say as much.  Maybe they should have discussed this beforehand.   She and Raven decide to flip a coin.  Raven wins and pays for their meal, though afterwards Apple sneaks back and leaves a few bills on the table to cover the tip.

Apple bites into the chocolate mint they got with the bill as they walk along the streets of Bookend.  The sun hangs low on the horizon, and she can feel heavy humidity in the air.  She worries that it might end up raining after all.  She pats her purse to find her umbrella, and is relieved when she feels it underneath her hand.

Ashlynn and Hunter walk a few paces ahead of them, their arms slung around each other’s waists, engrossed in conversation.  Hunter turns and places a gentle kiss on Ashlynn’s temple, and she gives him an adoring look.  They look so comfortable around each other.  Apple feels a pang of jealousy in her chest.  She wants something like that with Raven so much, but there are a thousand reasons why it can never work.

Raven’s hand is once again close enough to grab.  Apple feels herself sweat as she mulls over the consequences of reaching out for it in her head.  Raven might blow up at her for taking things too far.  She might sense her true feelings and be shocked and upset.  Or maybe she’ll play along.  The only way to know for sure is to try.  Apple takes a deep breath, and before she loses her nerve she intertwines her fingers with Ravens.

To her surprise and delight she feels Raven give her hand a gentle squeeze, and she looks down at her with a warm smile.  Apple can’t help but grin back.

“Hey so… I’m sorry I got so snippy with you earlier about the date.”

“It’s okay Raven.”

“No it’s not okay.  You have a right to be mad at me.  Hex, you _should_ be mad at me.  I feel awful for treating you so badly.”

“Raven, I’m not mad at you. I’m more confused really.  Why did this date get you so upset?”

Raven bites her lip and looks down at her feet. Her pace slows and she pauses before responding. “I’m uh…  sorting through some personal stuff right now, and the date just sorta resonated with me weird.”

“Why?”  

“I don’t think you’ll like the answer.”

“Well how come?” Apple gives her a gentle nudge with her shoulder. “Raven, talk to me.  I promise whatever it is I won’t be upset.”

Raven shakes her head.  “Apple I’m sorry, but I’m really not comfortable saying anything more.”

Apple sighs.  It’s frustrating that Raven won’t tell her what’s on her mind, but she can’t force her to open up if she doesn’t want to.  And upon further thought, it’s almost hypocritical of her to ask, given her gay crisis a few weeks earlier that she didn’t let anyone in on.

“It’s okay Raven. You were kind enough not to pry when I was weird and distant a few weeks ago, so I’ll grant you the same courtesy.”

 “Thank you, I appreciate that. It seems like you’re over your… whatever it was now?”

She nods.  “I think so.”

“Are you ready to tell me what that was about?”

Apple gulps.  While she’s come to terms with her sexuality and feelings for Raven, she’s sure as hex not ready to talk to her about it.  She doesn’t think she’ll _ever_ be ready for that conversation.

“Not yet, but I want to someday.”

The streetlamps around them flicker on as they cross over the covered bridge at the center of Bookend Park.  Hunter and Ashlynn are so far ahead of them they can’t hear their conversation anymore.  Apple wonders if they’ve noticed how far behind they’ve fallen.  She considers asking Raven if she wants to pick up their pace, but decides she doesn’t mind having this alone time with her.

Raven flashes her a crooked smile.  “So… I know my behavior might not reflect it the best, but this date got me really nervous.”  

Apple giggles.  “Me too!”

“I drove Faybelle crazy pacing around the room waiting for 6 PM.”

“I almost walked out the door without any shoes on.  I probably would’ve if Bunny hadn’t noticed.”

“Really, you always seem so cool and collected.  I never would have thought something like this would make _you_ nervous.”

Apple chuckles.  “I’m not a robot Raven, I do get nervous sometimes.  I mean, don’t most people get a little nervous on their first date?”

Raven gives her a disbelieving stare. “Like, first date ever?”

“Yup.”

“Really?  All of those guys chasing after you and you never dated any of them?”

“Nope.” She squeaks.  She considers adding something about not being interested in those guys chasing after her, but decides it would be too obvious.

“What about Daring?  You’ve gone out with him before, haven’t you?”

“Only as friends.  It’s not like that between us.  It never has been.”

Raven laughs. “Man, I’m your first date, your first kiss, your first girlfriend- err.. significant other.  I feel like I’m stealing all your firsts.”

“Don’t be mad about it, I’m glad they were with you.” Apple’s eyes widen and she feels a furious blush sweep across her cheeks.  She’s said way too much.  “Because um… it’s good practice!  For when I have a real uh… significant other.”

Raven chuckles.  “I don’t think love is something you need to practice Apple.”

“Well I uh… aren’t I your first date too?  And your first kiss and uh… significant other?”

“Yeah… I guess you are.”  

“You’re not upset, are you?”

Raven’s quiet as she looks up at the sky.  “Hmm... I think it’s starting to rain.”

Apple holds out her free hand, and feels cold droplets plop down into it.  She can feel her curls dampening, hanging heavy around her head as the rain intensifies.  She lets go of Raven’s hand so she can reach into her purse and retrieve her umbrella.

“Sorry, it was really only built for one person.”

“It’s alright.”  Raven takes the handle from her and holds the umbrella up above both their heads.  The two of them squeeze under it.  They have to walk shoulder to shoulder to stay dry.  From behind them she can hear two sets of heavy footsteps splashing through puddles.

“Room for two more?” Ashlynn asks as she and Hunter try to barge in.

“Not really.” Raven laughs. “But the more the merrier right?”

The four of them huddle together and scuttle down the sidewalk back to school. When they reach the main gate Apple’s clothes are drenched in rainwater, and her shoes and wet and squishy.  Apple feels horrible for the custodian who’s going to have to mop up the puddles they leave behind as they make their way to the main staircase.

“I’m going to walk Hunter to his room.” Ashlynn says to them with a shifty look in her eye directed at her boyfriend.   She stands on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. “And if Dexter’s still out with Cupid maybe I’ll stay a little longer?”

“Ashlynn!” Hunter laughs and swats her affectionately on the shoulder.   She takes him by the wrist and starts to lead him up the staircase to the boy’s dorms. “Goodnight guys!”

“Behave you two!” Apple laughs and calls out after them.  She and Raven start up the opposite staircase to the girl’s dorms. 

“Any chance you want to hang tonight?” Apple asks, and bites her tongue. “Not for the same reason as Ash and Hunter of course!  But-”

“Nah, I don’t really feel like climbing all those stairs to your room.” Raven stretches her arms high into the air. “This was fun though.  We should do it again sometime.”

“Yeah we should.” Apple feels her heartbeat race as she adds, “Maybe next time it could be just the two of us?”

Raven gives her a soft smile. “I’d like that.”

The two of them pause as they reach Raven’s floor, and turn to face each other with open arms.  Apple takes a step closer and wraps herself around Raven’s waist.  She closes her eyes and relaxes into their shared body heat, enjoying the feel of Raven’s soft cheek pressed against hers. 

“Hext me this weekend.” Raven says.

“I will.  You have fun at your um… thing tomorrow.”

“Uh huh.” Raven says as she pulls away.  She smiles, but her eyes have an almost panicked look to them.

“Are you okay Raven?” Apple gives her a delicate stare.

“Yeah.  I’m fine.  I’ll catch you later Apple.”

As Raven turns down the corridor to return to her room, Apple watches her with a love-struck smile.  A warm, fluttery feeling swells up in her chest.  She might not have all the answers to Raven’s strange behavior, but she does have the promise of a second date.  That’s all it takes to make her little, gay heart soar.

When Apple returns to her room she finds Bunny, Alistair, and Lizzie sitting on the floor constructing an elaborate house of cards.  A Wonderlandian rock band plays in the background from Bunny’s MirrorPhone.  The three of them turn to look at her as she tiptoes past them toward her bed.

“So how was the date?” Lizzie asks.

Apple beams at them.  “Oh it was wonderlandiful.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say whatever you want about Olive Garden's pasta, but their soup, salad, and bread sticks lunch deal is the bomb and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.
> 
> Apple's date outfit is based on [ this real outfit. ](http://assets.unique-vintage.com/media/catalog/product//L/i/Lindy_Bop_Plus_Size_1950s_Style_Green_Bad_Apple_Print_Pryia_Swing_Skirt_3.jpg) I'm going to draw it eventually, but I thought posting this chapter was more important than a doodle so look for that link later.
> 
> I occasionally post fic updates on my tumblr. So check me out/say hi [over here.](http://smolwonders.tumblr.com/)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was worried I wouldn't have this chapter done in time. At the very end of August I had to have an appendectomy, and it took me like 2 weeks before I felt up to writing again. 
> 
> But here we are!

“Hi. Three tickets to uh… _Mirror: Impossible IV_ please.” Raven says to the man behind the ticket kiosk.  She hands him a few crumpled bills from her wallet and he in turn gives her three movie tickets still hot from the printer.  

Raven slips the tickets into her purse, and sits down on the bench by the front door of the new multihex theatre. She takes out her MirrorPhone and swipes through her home screens without selecting any of the apps. There’s nothing she needs to do on her phone, she just wants to keep her hands busy while she waits for Dexter and Maddie.

She arrived at the theatre early, by design.  She told Maddie and Dexter it was to avoid the long lines and to get away from Faybelle.  While those were both true, her main reason was that she had to beat Dexter to the ticket booth or else he would force her to suffer through _Spelless in Seapple_ , a romantic drama that looked so sappy it made her want to barf.

Dexter tried his hardest to cram as much romance into this date as possible.  His eagerness was palpable, and Raven felt bad every time she had to tell him he needed to tone it down. That didn’t however detract from her annoyance that he didn’t seem to know the definition of discretion.  His first idea was to have a candlelit dinner at the most expensive restaurant in Bookend.  Grimm, it would have just been easier to tell Duchess they were going on a date.  

They couldn’t get caught on this date.   _She_ could not get caught on this date.  She’s not sure which would be worse, having to confess that her relationship with Apple is a lie, or that she cheated on her with Dexter. 

To avoid that horrifying situation Raven suggested going to the movies, where it would be easy to hide away in the dark, and they should bring Maddie with them to make it look even less like a date. Dexter agreed, though she could tell by his wavering smile that he wasn’t totally satisfied with the arrangement.

“Raven!”  She looks up from her phone to see Maddie standing on her tiptoes and waving at her with an enormous grin on her face.  Dexter stands next to her, also smiling and holding a bouquet of deep, purple roses with his good arm.  

Raven grimaces, and resists the urge to smack her forehead.  After countless lectures on how they could not make this look like a date, he goes and buys her flowers. She thinks back to when she visited him in the infairmary and he called Cupid’s bouquet of roses “friendship flowers”.  He sure seems to know the difference between friendship and romance now.

“Hey you guys!”  She says with a smile plastered on her face.  

“Raven, wow you look amazing.  Here, these are for you. ” Dexter stares at her with an awed expression.  He thrusts out his good arm holding the bouquet, and holds it a few inches from her face.  

Raven takes the flowers and holds them at her side in a loose, unsure grip.  “Wow… thanks Dexter.  You’re so sweet.  But uh… I thought we agreed to keep this low-key.”

Dexter’s cheeks tinge pink, and he flashes her a sheepish grin.  “I know, I just wanted to do something special for you.  And look, I got a little something for Maddie too.”   

Maddie holds up the tendril-y, purple passion flower she has strapped around her wrist. “Don’t worry Raven, this way it looks less suspicious.” She leans in and says to her in a mock whisper.

Raven looks around the crowded multihex.  Dozens, maybe even hundreds of people mill about the lobby.  She even recognizes a few of the faces as their classmates. She feels all their eyes on them. She bites her lip, and gets a sinking feeling in her stomach that someone will notice them, see through their act, and alert Duchess or Kitty.  Or even worse, _Blondie and her Mirrorcast show_.

They are so doomed.

“Anyway, I bought the tickets.” Raven says. She retrieves them from her purse and gives one to each of them.

Dexter raises his eyebrows. “ _Mirror: Impossible IV_?  I thought we were seeing _Spelless in Seapple_.”

“It was sold out. Sorry.” She lies.

“Aww… gort.” Dexter pouts.

Since Raven bought the tickets Dexter agrees to buy the snacks.  He stands in the long line for concessions while she and Maddie head to their theatre to choose a place to sit.  They decide on a spot near the back of the theatre, towards the left of the big screen but still with a decent view.  Together they spread out their picnic blanket and take a seat.

“Why did you lie and tell Dexter _Spelless in Seapple_ was sold out?” Maddie asks.

Raven gawks at her.  “How did you know I lied? Were you listening to the narrator's again?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t have to know you lied.  I just looked at the time board.  There’s five showings of _Spelless in Seapple_ tonight, but none of them were sold out.”

“Well, uh… it’s just not really my kind of movie.”

Maddie rubs her chin, and considers her response.  “Why are you on this date with Dexter when you’re not really into him?”

“Maddie keep your voice down, someone could hear you!” Raven says in a sharp whisper.

She does a glance around the theatre to make sure nobody overheard them. The groups of people around her seem too engrossed in their own conversations to be paying attention to them. Raven breathes a sigh of relief before giving Maddie a hard stare.  “And who says I’m not into Dexter?  I like him.  I wouldn’t be here doing this if I didn’t.”

Maddie shrugs.  “I guess that’s true, but it’s clear as day you like Apple more.”

Raven scoffs. “What? No I don’t.”

“Someone’s in denial!”  Maddie says with an annoying sing-song lilt.

Raven starts to deny that she’s in denial, but before she can finish she spots Dexter ambling into the theatre. Somehow he’s able to balance their gargantuan tray of concessions in his good arm.  Raven clamps her mouth shut and grabs her MirrorPhone from her bag.  She pretends to be engrossed in it as Dexter makes his way over.

“Okay, I’ve got three large cherry Hexi’s, chocolate mints for me, sour gummi-bears for Maddie, and a jumbo bucket of popcorn for us to share.” Dexter hands out their snacks and turns to her with a broad smile.  “Are you sure you don’t want anything else Raven? I could get Snow-Crowns, or Licorice Wands, or Chocolate-covered Goblin Bites?”

Raven shakes her head. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

Dexter plops down on the blanket next to her.  Raven goes back to her MirrorPhone.  She hopes he doesn’t notice she’s just swiping through her home screens.  As she nibbles on a handful of popcorn she feels a thick fabric drape over her shoulders.  She looks behind her to see Dexter, and furrows her brows.

“What are you doing?” She asks.

“Giving you my jacket.  You looked cold.”

Raven swats the jacket off her shoulders.  “Dexter I’m fine, really.  You don’t have to fuss over me.”

Dexter’s smile falters as he gathers up the crumpled jacket and pulls it back on. Before he can suggest anything else, like cooking her a four-course meal because she looks hungry, the lights in the theatre dim and the first preview plays on the big screen.

Raven tries to focus on the movie, but Dexter and the high-pitched whistling noise his nose makes every time he breathes in grates at her nerves. He won’t stop sniffling. Raven’s grip tightens on the handkerchief in her purse.  Once she can’t stand the sniffles any longer she thrusts it in his direction.  He blows into it, emitting an elephant-like noise loud enough for the entire theatre to hear. The couple in front of them actually turn around to shush them.

“Sorry Raven, it’s allergy season.” He whispers as he hands the snot-coated handkerchief back to her.

Halfway through the movie Raven reaches into the popcorn bucket and grabs something warm and fleshy.  Dexter’s hand.  He starts to lace his fingers around hers, but she lets out a high-pitched yelp and yanks her hand away. Popcorn kernels fly into the air and she spills the whole bucket in her lap.  

Afterwards Raven catches Dexter eyeing her hand a few times. His palm twitches, but he makes no further attempts to touch her. Raven breathes a relieved sigh when the end credits roll and Dexter didn’t try to put any more moves on her.  She reasons her apprehension is disgust at how germy his hands must be from blowing his nose, but she can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more to it.

On their walk back to campus they’re accompanied by some classmates who were in the theatre with them, and they chatter about their thoughts.  Most seem to have come to the same conclusion about the movie as her.  That the effects were good, but the story was predictable and the villain a cliché. Still, a halfway-decent action flick beats a hokey melodramatic romance movie like _Spelless in Seapple_.  

When they get back to school their classmates wish each other goodnight and file up the two main staircases to the dorms. Maddie yawns and stretches her arms high into the air.

“Well I’m going to hit the hay.  Good night you two.”

“Night!” She and Dexter say in unison.

Maddie waves back at them once more before heading upstairs.  She and Dexter are now the only two people in the hallway, and a tense, uncomfortable feeling forms in her stomach.

“Well that was fun.” Dexter says. He rubs the back of his neck and grins at her.

She nods. “Yeah, I had a good time.”

Dexter leans in closer.  Alarm bells go off in Raven’s head as she worries he’s going to kiss her. She considers sprinting up the stairs without another word, or jumping out the window next to them, but her feet won’t move. She stands still as stone while Dexter gives her a quick, gentle hug.  Torrent of relief washes over her as she realizes that’s all he intends to do.

“I’ll see you around.” He says as he bounds up the stairs two at a time.

Once Dexter is out of eyesight Raven’s smile drops. She chucks the bouquet of flowers into the nearest trashcan before heading back to her dorm. She wishes she had the key to the spellevator so she wouldn’t have to climb the stairs. She’s exhausted.  Mentally drained.  All she wants to do is put on pajamas, listen to some tunes, and not have to think about her messy love life.

Her mind flashes back to yesterday and her date with Apple. It’s hard not to compare how opposite the two ended. Dexter’s was the one she most looked forward to, Apple’s the one she dreaded. Apple’s was fake under the pretense of being real, Dexter’s real on the pretense of it being not.  But the thought swirling around at hyper speed in her mind is that Dexter’s is the one she doesn’t want to repeat, and Apple’s was the one she does.

Sure, her date with Apple started out a tad awkward. Most of that awkwardness stemming from her sourness at being forced to confront these feelings she _did not want to confront_.  As the night wore on though, she let her guard down had fun.  Too much fun.  There were a few too many points she had to remind herself this wasn’t a real date. When she said good night she wanted to kiss Apple so bad it ached.  

All this is making it difficult to keep reassuring herself she has only friendly, platonic feelings for Apple.

It doesn’t make sense for her to like Apple.  She’s just so... _Apple_.  She’s the girl whose constant cheeriness used to annoy her to no end.  Who talks nonstop about destiny and Prince Charmings.  Who thinks of her as her ‘frenemy’, emphasis on the enemy part. Sure, Apple’s grown on her since the beginning of the school year, but there’s no way her feelings for her could have evolved into a full-blown crush.  

Plus, Apple is _straight._  Raven’s certain if she looked up heterosexual in the dictionary, she’d find a picture of her and her perfect, blonde curls.  Raven should focus her feelings on the sweet, handsome boy who likes her and not the beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful, unattainable straight girl.  It’ll save her an awful lot of heartache in the long run.

Raven can hear Faybelle’s bubblegum pop music playing a whole floor below.  The ceiling above her vibrates from the sound.  Quiet hours have already started for the night, and Raven wonders if anyone’s complained.  Not likely.  Complaining to Faybelle would get the door slammed in your face and the music cranked up even louder.  

As she approaches her door she can hear howls of laughter coming from inside.  Two howls of laughter to be exact.  One of them honky, like a goose. Or a swan.

Duchess and Faybelle sit cross-legged on her bed, which is covered in candy wrappers and beauty magazines.  They each wear an identical, green facemask and are painting each other’s nails. The bottle of black polish looks identical to one she bought last month. Raven glances at her vanity and confirms that her bottle is indeed missing.

“Duchess is sleeping over tonight.” Faybelle says, not taking her eyes off of Duchess’s hand.

Raven purses her lips. “Thanks for the heads up.”

Faybelle responds by rolling her eyes and cranking the Taylor Quick song up even louder.

Raven can feel her body tense as she changes into her pajamas. She can’t find a comfortable position to relax in her bed. Even through her headphones she can hear Faybelle’s awful music blaring.  

She groans, not caring if Faybelle and Duchess hear her.  She can barely tolerate Faybelle and Duchess on their own.  But the two of them together?  She needs to find somewhere else to sleep tonight.

Raven scrolls through her contacts. Briar had offered for this very occasion, and she’s sure Cedar and Cerise wouldn’t mind either. Or Ginger and Melody, or Cupid and Blondie.  She has a whole host of friends she could ask for a place to temporarily spend the night.  And she ends up picking none of them.

Sent to Apple White today at 10:01 PM

_SOS!  Faybelle and Duchess are having a sleepover in my room!! Can I crash with you tonight?_

It’s a dumb idea.  Apple will probably send her back a hext about how the two of them being in the same room after curfew violates rule 45 part b or whatever of the Ever After High code of conduct.  But Apple is the person she wants to see right now.  As if talking to her and seeing her smile will make this sucky night a little bit better.

Sent today at 10:02 PM

_I think we can work something out!  Meet me at the west balcony in 10 minutes.  Bring your sleeping bag!_ _J_

Reading the response Raven breaks out into a grin, and she clutches her phone to her chest.

“Is that a hext from your girlfriend?” Faybelle teases from across the room.

“Maybe.” Raven responds, feeling her cheeks flush.

“Ugh… you two are gross.”

Duchess scowls at Faybelle, then at her.  “You can drop the act here Raven.  We all know you aren’t really dating her.”

“It’s not an act.” She says.  And this time, it’s true. Her gleeful response was genuine.

Raven leaves her room feeling reenergized, and bounds up the stairs to the balcony. When she arrives she can smell freshly popped kettle corn wafting through the air. She looks around to find the source and spots a large purple bowl piled high with kettle corn.  Next to it sits four bottles of pink lemonade and a medley of chocolate candies.  The wrappers all read the names of her favorites.

Apple’s set up a cocoon of crimson blankets and pink pillows.  A few moths fly lazily around copper lanterns she’s placed along the outside.  It looks soft and cozy, and Raven wants to hide away inside.

Apple is seated not in the cocoon, but cross-legged on the stone bench, looking up at the night sky. Even in flannel pajama pants and with her hair in a messy topknot she looks like she belongs on the cover of a magazine. She’s mastered the art of making comfy look chic.  If Raven tried to steal her style she would end up looking like a disheveled mess.

Apple pushes her glasses up to keep them from falling down her nose.   Raven has to do a double take to make sure she saw that right.  She can count on one hand how many times she’s seen Apple wear her glasses like she’s supposed to.  Raven can’t understand her dislike towards them.  She looks just as good with them on as she does off.  Not that she would ever tell her that.

Raven sets down her sleeping bag and sits next to her. She puts her feet up on the bench and rests her head on her knees.

“What are you looking at?” She asks.

“I’m trying to find  The Big Dipper.”  She says. She keeps her eyes fixed to the sky. The lantern lights reflect off her glasses.  

“I didn’t know you were an astronomer.”

“I’m not really.  It’s just something I used to do when I was a kid. I liked looking up at all the constellations and hearing my dad tell their stories.” Apple chuckles, and her eyes widen.  The bun on her head bobbles as she points at  the sky. “There it is!  Do you see it?”

Raven follows Apple’s finger and squints up at the imaginary spot in the sky. Her heart beat quickens as she tries to focus on the stars and not the scent of Apple’s cherry blossom shampoo. She hopes Apple doesn’t notice she smells like sweat, movie theatre popcorn, and the cologne Dexter applied a liberal amount of.  She should have taken a quick shower before coming up here.

“Look it’s that bright spot right here.” Apple nudges her with her shoulder, and draws a circle with her finger in the air.

Raven gives the sky another hard look, and shakes her head.  All the stars look equally bright to her.

“Sorry, I’m still having trouble.”

Apple gives her a soft, strange expression. Raven thinks there’s a blush on her face, but she can’t say for certain in the dim lantern light.  Slowly, Apple takes her hand and folds down her last three fingers so only her index still points straight. She then slides her hand down to her wrist and guides it towards one of the stars.

“This is the handle.”  She says, and traces out three more stars in a curved line. “And here is the bowl.” She points out four more stars in the sky that form a square.  “If you follow this line right here you can use it to find the North Star.”

“That’s Polaris right?”

“Hexactly! Polaris is the tip of the handle in the little dipper. Want me to trace out the rest of it, or do you want to try finding it yourself?”

“Show me.” Raven says with a soft smile. She doesn’t want Apple to let go of her.  

Apple scoots closer to her. Raven can feel her body heat as her shoulder rests against hers. She watches the sky as Apple traces out the Little Dipper with her finger.

“Can I show you Orion?” Apple asks.

“Sure.”

“Give me a second to find it.  It’s easier in the winter, and when there’s less light pollution.”  She scans the sky, squinting up hard at the stars from behind her thick glasses. She moves her finger to a different location.  “There it is!  You see those three stars right there?”

“Yeah, I see them.”  Raven says, studying the line. She wouldn’t have given it a second glance without her pointing it out.

“That’s Orion’s belt.  Above it are his shoulders, and that bright orange star is Betelgeuse. Below it are his feet, and the bright star on the left is Rigel.”

Raven works out the constellation as Apple describes it, and tries not to get distracted at how soft her palm is.  They’re already sitting shoulder to shoulder, but she wants to pull her even closer.

“That’s all my knowledge of the night sky I’m afraid.  I could look up some star charts on my MirrorPhone and try to find more if you want.” Apple says. To Raven’s disappointment she lets go of her wrist.

“Actually, I have one trick for you.” She takes Apple’s hand and guides it to the only thing in the night sky she can identify. “That right there is the moon. Did you know it’s made completely of cheese?”

Apple giggles. The bun on her head bobs up and down.  “No it’s not. It’s made of nickel and sulfur. Weren’t you paying attention when we studied it last year?”

“Science?  Nah, I went straight to the source and asked the cow who jumped over it.  She swears it was made of cheese.”

“You’re right.  I can’t argue with that logic.” Apple says.  She frees her hand and gets off the bench, stretching her arms high into the air.  “Do you want help setting up your sleeping bag?”

“Nah I’ve got it.”  

Apple settles into her cocoon of blankets and opens up her MirrorPad while Raven unrolls her black sleeping bag next to her, within arm’s reach of the kettle corn and pink lemonade.  

“Need any hextra pillows?”  Apple asks as she takes off her glasses and puts them back into their case. Raven shakes her head. Once she’s got everything in its place she lies down and reaches over for the kettle corn.

“So why’d you pick this place to camp out?” Raven asks, her words somewhat garbled from the food in her mouth.

“Well we couldn’t have a sleepover in my room with Bunny thinking we’re dating and all, and we certainly couldn’t have it in yours. There aren’t a whole lot of other options. You don’t have a problem with this spot right? Because I’m sure we could find another place if you want to.”

“No this is fine.  It’s the best place to watch the sunset.”  

Raven bites her lip.  She remembers saying that exact thing to Dexter earlier in the school year. She feels a sharp pang of guilt stab her in her stomach.  She has to remind herself she doesn’t have anything to feel guilty about.  Apple gave her permission to go on the date.  Not that Raven even needed it, since they aren’t dating and they don’t have those kind of feelings for each other.

“So you do stargaze here?” Apple says with a lilt.  Raven looks over at her and sees she’s wearing a huge grin.  Her smile falters upon seeing her flummoxed face. “Stargaze? You know, because the sun is a star?”

“Oh right.” Raven gives her a half-hearted smile.  Apple’s cheeriness isn’t helping this guilty feeling go away.

“I guess I just like this place, you know?  It’s peaceful.”

“Yeah I get that.”

“My mom told me stories about how her and my dad would sneak up here when they went to Ever After. This is where they had their first kiss.” Her eyes widen and she lets out a quiet gasp. “Not that this is an inherently romantic spot!  I’ve come up here with my friends before plenty of times.”

“Yeah me too.” She lets out a nervous chuckle and looks away from her.

“So… how was your thing today?” Apple asks after a considerable amount of silence passes between them.

“What thing?”

“Uh… the very important thing you had going on today. You didn’t really go into specifics about it so...”

“Oh!  It was good.” Raven resists the urge to smack her forehead. Of course Apple meant the date.  Which she intentionally avoided elaborating on to her when she asked.  

“What did you end up doing?”

“I just went to the new Multihex theatre with Maddie and uh… Dexter.  I guess it wasn’t really _that_ important.”

“Oh, that’s all?  Well, it sounds fun!  What did you guys see?”

“ _Mirror: Impossible IV_.  It was alright.  Too many explosions, not enough exposition.”  

Apple nods. “Yeah, I heard the critics weren’t too fond of it either.  You should have seen _Spelless in Seapple._ I heard Rachel McAbracadabrams was phenomenal.”

“Maybe next time.  So, uh… what did you do today?” She asks, deflecting the attention away from _Spelless in Seapple_ and away from her.

“Well mostly I worked on the Royal Student council’s annual club review and budget allocation.  It’s taking forever to get through.  And uh… what else did I do today?” Apple taps her chin. “I had dinner in the castleteria with Cedar and Blondie, straightened my dorm room, did some laundry.  That’s about it really.”

“Wow, that was incredibly boring.  You didn’t like, go around helping old ladies cross the street or saving cats stuck up in trees?”

Apple laughs.  “Nope, not today. But yesterday I caught a spider and let it out my window.”  

“You know most house spiders aren’t accustomed to living outdoors, so releasing it outside is basically the same as killing it, except slower and more painful?”

Apple gives her a blank stare.  “I’m going to pretend you never told me that, and delete that information from my mind.”

Raven smiles. She remembers those disapproving looks Apple would shoot her every time she squashed a spider in their dorm.  How she’d lecture her that spiders shouldn’t be punished for wandering into a place they don’t belong.  Raven always rolled her eyes, but she was secretly in awe at how much she wanted to help people and do the right thing.  Even if it was a little misguided.

“Hey Apple?”

“Yeah?”

“Why’d you take your glasses off when you sat down?”

She bites her lip.  “Oh, I just didn’t need them anymore.  I was only wearing them to look at the stars clearly.  You weren’t even supposed to see me in them.”

“Yeah, but now you can’t see as well.”

“I can see just fine.”

Raven frowns at her.  “Apple, you’re squinting at me right now.”

“Because it’s dark!”

“Why are you so embarrassed by your glasses anyway?  I mean, you look just as spellbinding with them on as you do off.”  

Raven covers her mouth. She can’t believe she said that _out loud_. She hopes Apple doesn’t notice her blush.  She probably doesn’t, because she’s buried her head in one of her pillows to hide that her own face has turned a furious shade of red.  

“You’re just saying that to be nice.” Apple says. It comes out muffled from behind the pillow.

“I’m not. Swear it. Besides, Rosabella’s destined to be a princess too and she wears glasses.”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“Beauty’s supposed to be bookish in her story, so Rosabella can get away with wearing glasses.  Snow White has a different image to project.”

“And what’s that?”

Apple lifts her head from her pillow. “Perfection.”

“So what? Glasses show that you have flaws? Everybody has flaws, Apple.”

“I know, but I can’t _show_ that I have flaws. To the world I’m supposed to be a perfect, pretty princess, and I can’t do anything to contradict that.”  Apple lets out a cold laugh under her breath. “And how pretty I am is all I ever hear.  It’s not hard to be pretty.  You just have to wear the right clothes and smile a lot. I’m destined to be a powerful Queen, so why is it that all I am to everyone is a pretty princess?”

Raven locks eyes with her.  She wants to tell her that she’s smart, kind, caring and so much more than a pretty face. But she doesn’t out of fear that her compliments would sound fake and forced in context.

Apple frowns at her.  “Sorry I shouldn’t sound like I’m complaining.  It’s an honor to be Snow White, and I’m proud to carry on her legacy.”

“No, it’s fine.  You have a right to be unhappy with your destiny.”

“But I’m not unhappy with it.”

“But it’s okay to be.  Haven’t you ever questioned your destiny, Apple?”

“No!  Of course not!  I… Maybe.” It’s barely a whisper, like this is the first time she’s admitting it aloud.  “Raven, what if I’m the wrong person to be Snow White?”

Raven has to stifle a laugh.  Not that she finds her statement is funny,  it’s just such strange thing for her to worry about.  Apple?  The wrong person to be Snow White?  If she can’t encapsulate the role, then there isn’t anyone more qualified who can.

“Apple where in Ever After would you get that idea?  You’re the perfect Snow White.”

Apple looks away from her and plays with a lock of hair that’s fallen out of her bun.  “Lately I haven’t been so sure.”

“Why’s that?  It’s not your hair is it?  Because it’s fine just as it is. Blonde suits you.”

“No, it’s not my hair.  It’s… it’s other things.”

“Such as?”

She hesitates, opening her mouth to speak and then closing it. “It’s nothing.  Forget I mentioned it.”

Raven wants to push her further. She wants Apple to share everything and not feel like she has to hold back.  Instead, Raven gives her a reassuring smile.

“Hey, it’s okay.  All the pressure people put on us to be the perfect villain or princess or whatever can really mess with your head.”

“Is that why you’re so spellbent on rebelling against your destiny?  Because you think you’re the wrong person for it?”

Raven frowns. “No, it’s kind of the opposite actually.  I… I’m worried I might be too perfect for the role.”

Apple knits her brows. “What do you mean?”

Raven swallows.  She’s talked at great length about how she doesn’t want to follow her destiny, but she hasn’t gone much into _why_.  Most people assume it’s because she doesn’t want to do all those cruel acts in her story. While they’re not wrong, there’s a bigger, more sinister side to it she’s never shared with anyone.

“It’s just- I can barely control my evil magic.  It would be so easy for something to go wrong in our story.”

“Don’t worry Raven. I promise that when I’m Queen I’ll pardon you for your crimes. Then we’ll all live happily ever after.  That’s how it always works.”

“Yes, but what if something happens?  What if I turn out like my Mom and go into a power-crazed rage?  What if when I’m faced with poisoning you, I can’t control myself and I end up hurting you?  I could never forgive myself if something happened to you, or any of the people I love.”

Apple reaches over her mountain of pillows and gives her a delicate, caring look. She cups one hand to her cheek, and rests the other on her shoulder.  

“Is that what you’re worried about most, Raven?  Losing control?”

Raven breaks her gaze away from her and nods at the ground. “That and turning out like my mom. I think about the horrible things she did as The Evil Queen, and it makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t know how I could ever bring myself to be so cruel.”

Apple lets go of her shoulder and cheek, only to wrap her arms around her and pull her into a tight embrace. Raven’s eyes widen at the sudden movement, but her body quickly relaxes in her arms.

“You’re nothing like your Mom Raven. You won’t make the same mistakes she did.”

“How can you be so confident?”

“When my Mom mentioned yours in her stories about Ever After, she’d say how she was a cold, sadistic loner who didn’t have any need for friends, or even seem to like people save for your dad. You’re nothing like that Raven. You’re friendly and warm and witty, and overall, you’re a good person with a good heart.”

Apple pulls away from the hug, and holds her face in her hands, forcing her to look her in the eyes.  Raven can see a faint blush on her face.  

“Raven, I care about you a lot, you know that?  You, Raven Queen the person. Not your legacy or your destiny, but _you_.  I- We all love you too much to ever let you become full evil.”

Raven blinks, and reaches up to wipe tears forming in her eyes. She can’t remember anyone being so kind and reassuring towards her. Telling her what she needs to hear to feel safe and loved.  Raven can sense from her soft touches and firm voice that she meant every word of it.

Raven pulls Apple back into a tight hug, which she reciprocates. She wraps her arms around her waist and rests her head on her shoulder.  Raven closes her eyes and breathes in the comforting scent of her cherry blossom shampoo.  Neither of them say anything for a while.  They both sit their in each other’s arms, listening to the crickets chirp and the gentle, night breeze swirl around them.

“I brought my MirrorPad.  Do you want to watch something?” Apple asks once she’s pulled away.

She nods. They prop up the MirrorPad between them and Raven scrolls through her Hexflix queue. Apple adjusts the pillows and blankets so they’re both enveloped together in her cocoon.   It’s not long into their movie that Raven’s eyelids feel heavy.  She feels Apple breathing rhythmically beside her.

“Apple?”

“Hmm?” She replies back sleepily, not bothering to open her eyes.

“I’m going to turn off the MirrorPad.”

“Okay.”

“Good night.”

“Night Raven.”

Raven lies on her back facing up at the stars. She tries to find the Big Dipper, but finds she can’t do it without Apple’s assistance.  Instead she studies the stars and makes up new constellations in her head until she falls asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot believe I had to type the words "Apple is straight." It feels so wrong.
> 
> You guys this is probably my favorite chapter in the entire story!! Let me know if you liked it too!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God this chapter was hard to write.

Apple wakes up feeling warm and comfortable swaddled in her plush sleeping bag. Raven is the first thing she sees when she opens her eyes.

Raven lies on her stomach. Her breathing is soft and rhythmic. Apple is mesmerized by the slow, gentle rise and fall of her back. She doesn’t want to wake her because she looks so peaceful. Gone are the worry-flurry lines that have marred her face the past few weeks.

Raven's hand lies less than an inch away from her own. It's possible during the night they held hands. A jolt of electricity surges through her at the thought.

Apple yawns and stretches her arms up above her head. The sky, so clear and perfect last night, is now a dull, dreary grey. The clouds look like they could burst and pour buckets of rain on them at any instant. The air around her is thick and heavy. Her hair stands up and frizzes from the increased humidity.

“Raven wakey-wakey.”  She gives her shoulder a gentle nudge.

“Ugh….” Raven rolls over onto her other side to face the opposite direction.

Apple laughs, remembering how much of a morning person Raven isn’t. When they lived together there were times she had to drag her out of bed so she wouldn’t be late for class. Apple never minded the extra chore. There was something adorable about her in that dazed half-asleep/half-awake mode. Her eyes half-lidded, and her features so soft and delicate.

Grimm, how in Ever After did she pass off her monster crush on Raven as friendship for so long?   

“Come on Raven, it’s time to get up.”

“Nooo. Don’t wanna. Too early.”

“Raven, take a look at the clouds.”

Raven rolls onto her stomach to stare up at the sky. She shoots Apple an unimpressed look. 

“So? It’s only a couple of clouds.”

A flash of lightning blinks the distance, and a thunderous boom follows a few seconds later. Apple swears she feels a drop of rain on her shoulder. She shoots Raven a knowing grin. 

“Only a couple of clouds, huh?”

Frowning, Raven throws off her sleeping bag and sits up.

They clean up the balcony in silence. Apple packs her belongings with care. She counts her candles to make sure she has the whole set and folds her blankets into neat squares. Raven dumps her things into her backpack without caring whether it's organized or not. 

“Do you want to get breakfast in the Castleteria after we drop off our stuff?” Apple asks. She zips up her backpack and slips her arms between the straps.

Raven snorts out a laugh. “No way. It’s way too early to do anything but sleep. I'd do lunch later if you're-"

Apple interrupts her with a loud shush. She's certain she heard a faint noise coming from down the hallway over Raven's voice. Her eyes widen and her pulse races. 

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear wha-"

"Shh! Listen!"

There it is, the unmistakable click of heels on the tile floor. A hard feeling of dread and mortification settles over her. She and Raven stare at each other with matching looks of panic. She can only imagine the rumors that will spread like wildfire if they’re caught up here having a sleepover, just the two of them. Word of their late night exploits are bound to get back to the headmasters, or worse,  _ her mother. _

Apple searches for somewhere to hide. The balcony is devoid of anything except a stone bench and a few small, bushes. She and Raven stand petrified in place as the person rounds the corner and enters their line of sight.

"Apple! Raven! What are you doing here?"

“Oh hey Lizzie!  We were uh...”  

Apple trips over her tongue searching for a proper excuse. Her mind falls void of anything logical. It’s too obvious what they were doing. They’re both holding sleeping bags and pillows for Grimm's sake. Her face heats up thinking about how disheveled they both must look.

“We were just leaving.” Raven finishes for her. She grabs her by the wrist and leads her away toward the doorway.

“Apple, Raven, wait.” 

They both turn around. Lizzie’s eyes are wide and full of fear. She fidgets with the lacy frill on one of her gloves and stares back at them with a pleading expression. She looks just as surprised and frightened to bump into them as they are with her.  

“You uh… you won’t tell anyone you saw me here. Right?” 

Apple furrows her brows. What in Ever After does  _ Lizzie _ have to hide? Visiting balconies early in the morning is admittedly a bit odd, but there's nothing sinister about it.

“Of course not.” 

“Thank you.” 

Lizzie gives them a shaky smile and sits down on the stone bench. She squints out at the horizon, like she’s expecting to see something there besides thick, grey clouds. With her back turned she and Raven make their escape.

“I wonder what that was about.” Apple whispers.

“Beats me.”

“I never thought Lizzie would be one with sec-”

She’s cut off by a ferocious roar on the balcony. Apple almost jumps out of her skin as the floor trembles beneath them. A painting on the wall next to them falls off it's hook and crashes onto the floor.

“What the hex was that? Thunder?”

Raven shakes her head. “No, that was a dragon.”

“Oh my Grimm! Lizzie!”

They both rush back to the balcony. An enormous blue beast looms over Lizzie and casts the entire surface in shadow. Lizzie stands confident with her hands on her hips, staring it down. She doesn’t look terrified. She looks annoyed.

“What are you doing?  Are you trying to wake up the whole school?” 

Apple follows Lizzie’s eyes to the nape of the dragon’s neck. She’s not yelling at the dragon, but it’s rider. Apple squints and tries to figure out their identity, but a shiny silver helmet hides their face. 

“Don't worry. The dorms are on the other side of the school. No one could have heard me.” The rider says. The helmet distorts their voice beyond recognition. 

“Raven and Apple were just here. If you had been here a minute earlier they would have seen you.”

“Huh, what were they doing here?”

“I don’t know. Having a sleepover or something? I was more concerned with getting them to leave than finding out what they were doing.”

The rider leaps off the dragon’s back, does a somersault in the air, and lands with a flourish on the terrace in front of Lizzie. They take off their helmet to reveal a dazzling, white smile and a mop of straw blond hair.

“Aww come on Lizzie. Let me turn that frown upside down.”

Daring picks Lizzie up by the waist and spins her around. She strains to keep her face pursed in a frown, but her lips betray her and she breaks into a grin. She giggles like a giddy child as Daring sets her down and presses a soft kiss to her cheek.

“Really Daring, flying on dragon back seems a bit much. We could have always walked to the Enchanted Forest.”

“Only the best for you my dear.” He says and kisses her again, this time on the lips. Lizzie places her fingers on his cheeks and pulls him closer.  

So, Daring and Lizzie are a thing. That’s far from what she was expecting. 

She's having trouble picturing it. They seem like such an odd couple. Then again, Daring is always chasing after beautiful girls, a category Lizzie falls into with ease. And Lizzie... well, Apple’s not sure who her type is. For all she knows it could be Daring. Maybe the idea of them together isn’t so out of left field.

She feels a gentle hand on her shoulder and looks to Raven, who gives her a wide-eyed, sympathetic look.

“Hey, are you okay? You’re not like, upset or anything?

She shakes her head. “Why would I be?”

“Daring’s your storybook prince. And he and Lizzie are apparently dating.”

“So? I don’t  _ own _ Daring, Raven. Before our destiny he can see whoever he likes.”

“I suppose, but I always thought your relationships were supposed to be casual. That seemed a lot more serious than his stint at the kissing booth.”

Raven’s right. This didn't seem like their first time sneaking off on a date. She can't recall Daring seeing the same girl more than twice. He's in a full-fledged relationship. She’s not sure if it’s ‘forgo destiny to be with this person forever after’ level of serious, but any amount of commitment on Daring’s part is enough to mean something. 

What now? Is she supposed to be devastated? Should she want to sob into a pillow and not leave her room for days? She doesn’t feel sad or broken-hearted. The only thing she feels is guilt. Daring and Lizzie are going to great lengths to keep their relationship a secret, and it's probably because of her. 

She wants to be in love with Daring. She's tried for years to force herself to feel something for him besides friendship and respect. He’s the perfect hextbook Prince, handsome, brave, loyal. And she's a hextbook Princess, beautiful, compassionate, kind. They're literally destined to fall in love and live happily ever after. She should be head-over-heels for him.

Instead her stupid heart is skipping beats over her storybook villain.

“So you’re really not mad?”

“Of course not. Daring and Lizzie are my friends. I want them both to be happy, and they’re obviously fairy happy together.” 

"Well okay, if you're sure." Raven gives her a soft smile before gripping the handrail to head downstairs. "Hey, Let me know if you want to have lunch later."

"Will do."

When Apple gets back to her room she lies down in bed in an attempt to catch a few more z’s. She tosses and turns, but finds her mind is too restless to fall back asleep. Instead the grabs her backpack and umbrella and heads for Bookend.

Sent to Briar today at 7:34 AM

_ Hey are you awake? _

It’s time to come clean to best friend forever after about everything.  Her fake relationship, her real feelings for Raven, her worries about her future. She's had to carry her secrets close to her chest for weeks. She's going to burst if she doesn't confide in someone everything that's been circling around in her mind on repeat. If Raven can have a few friends in on their secret, it’s only fair she can have one too.

She peers in through the large, glass windows of the Hocus Latte. She wants to make certain she's not about to stumble in on Daring and Lizzie in the middle of a romantic moment. Her worries are unwarranted, as she remembers they were headed for the forest, not the village. Plus Daring's enormous dragon is nowhere to be seen.

The cafe is filled to half capacity. The air is full with the scent of fresh coffee and the sound of unfamiliar conversations. Apple doesn’t recognize any of the patrons. They’re all older residents of Bookend. Usually when she visits the tables and couches are overflowing with her classmates. But  it's early on a Sunday morning. Most of them are still asleep.

There’s no line when she orders her apple cinnamon latte with extra nutmeg and a croissant. She blinks and her order is waiting at the pick-up station. She takes a seat on one of the cozy couches by the window. Rain patters on the glass as she sips her latte. She checks her phone once more to see if Briar has replied before putting it away in her backpack.

The bells over the door jingle, and in walks the first face she recognizes. A red-haired, leather jacket clad boy who looks an awful lot like Sparrow Hood. But it  _ can't  _ be him. The Merry Men have a reputation for not waking up until noon on the weekends. (And sometimes on the weekdays too.) Apple blinks and does a double take. Sure enough, it’s him. 

“Hey Beautiful.” 

Sparrow grins at her in the cocky, half-smirking way Daring does when he’s trying to impress a girl. Apple tightens her grip on her latte, and goosebumps prickle on her skin. She looks around to make sure he’s talking to her and not someone else. The patrons at the nearby tables are all at least twice their age.

“Uh… hi Sparrow.”

“Mind if I take a seat?” 

Before she can respond he plops down on the couch and slides next to her. He’s close enough that his jacket sleeve, still slick with rain, rubs against her arm. She suppresses a gag at the stench of his musky, woodland cologne.

“So… how’s it going?” He asks. His breath is minty, and he's still wearing that grin straight out of an Advanced Wooing hextbook.

“I’m uh… I’m fine. How are you?”

“Better now that I’ve got you in my sights.”

“Um… thank you?”

Apple knits her brows. Sparrow is not her friend. On a good day  _ maybe _ he’s an acquaintance, but even calling him that is a stretch. They never talk outside of classwork. She finds his music annoying and his personality abrasive, and she always got the impression he thought she was "prissy" and "stuck-up". 

Yet here he is making pleasantries with her like they’ve been best buddies for years.  

What’s stranger is it feels like he’s flirting with her. Cute pet names, sickly-sweet compliments, and an ever-leering eye which makes her skin crawl. She can't make heads or tails out of it. He knows she is in a relationship. A few weeks ago he was screaming she was a lesbian and could not be romanced. Is this his way of being nice? Did he hit his head when he woke up this morning?

Apple lets out a small yelp as Sparrow puts an arm around her shoulder and yanks her closer. He pulls out his MirrorPhone and holds it in front of them.

“Let’s take a spellfie together.”

“Oh… okay.” She puts on a pleasant smile and tries not to blink when the flash goes off in her face. She removes Sparrow’s arm and scoots into the corner of the couch. To her immense relief he doesn’t follow her.

“So uh... what brings you to the Hocus Latte this morning?” She asks.

"I dunno. Needed a change of scenery. You?”

“Same. This is a good place to come and think.”

“What’s on your mind, Gorgeous?”

Apple purses her lips and cradles her warm cup in her palms. She wanted to have this conversation with Briar. Sparrow is the last person she’d select as a proxy. Still, he’s here and he’s asking.

“Have you ever had a really big change happen to you in a really short amount of time? Like, everything's fine and normal, then this thing, this change, catapults into your life. And suddenly your whole worldview is uprooted and you feel like you're becoming a different person?”

“Mmm… no. Sounds complicated. Hey, wanna hear my new song?” 

In one lightning-fast move Sparrow swings his guitar over his shoulder and onto his lap, ready to play. He lifts his hand into the air and is about to strike a chord when she waves her arms for him to stop.

“Uh.. that’s okay Sparrow, maybe some other time. Or maybe you could play it for Raven. She’s a fairy gifted musician. She wrote a song for me last week and it was spelltacular.”

“Ugh.. she wrote you some mushy love song, didn't she?”

“It wasn’t mushy, it was sweet.”

"I doubt it. Love songs are sappy and gross."

She laughs. "Well she didn't write it for you Sparrow. She wrote it for me, and I thought it was thoughtful and sweet. Just like her."

Apple's phone vibrates from within her backpack. She hopes Sparrow won't think it rude for her to check her messages. His attention is centered on his oversized blueberry muffin, and he appears unconcerned with what she's doing. 

Sent from Briar at 8:23 AM

_ I am now. What’s up? _

Sent at 8:25 AM

_ Meet me at Hocus Latte? _

Sent from Briar 8:25 AM

_ Be there in 10 :) _

Apple stows her phone away and takes out one of the folders in her backpack. She was hoping to get some Royal Student Council work done while she waited for Briar, but Sparrow showed up and distracted her with… conversation, or something. Sparrow looks over her shoulder to peek into her bag. He studies her rows of files and folders with curiosity. 

"Do you have the entire school lifairy in that backpack?”

Apple rolls her eyes. “It's not that much Sparrow, just a couple Royal Student Council folders. I’m almost done with the annual budget allocation.”

“How does that budget balancing stuff work anyway?”

“Well the Headmasters gave us a number for the budget and we look over each club’s expense report and make sure we can afford it all. If we can’t we have to figure out where we make cuts.”

“So, do you guys ever like, shut down clubs, or refuse to fund them?”

"Well, last spellmester we refused to fund the dark magic club. But we found out they were practicing necromancy and that breaks about 17 different school rules. That's a fairy hextreme case though, and in general every club that submits a report gets funding.”

“So the Merry Men - the rock band club I mean. You’re not going to refuse to fund it or anything?”

“I don’t see why we would. I looked over your expense report last night, and everything seemed to be in order. Why? Are you worried?”

“No! Just curious about the process is all.”

Through the window she spots Briar under the cafe's front awning. Her hair is messy and windswept, and she struggles to get her umbrella shut before she clambers inside. Apple stands up and waves as she gets into line. Briar spots her and smiles back.

"Hey Apple! And Sparrow. What are you doing here?"

“Just uh... hanging out with my special friend Apple, but I gotta hit the road. See you ladies later." He gets up from the couch and gathers up his trash. As he's walking out the door he turns and tips his hat their way. "Thanks again for clearing all that up Apple."

“Of course.”

The bells jingle as the door shuts behind him. Through the window she watches him run down the street with his jacket over his head to avoid the rain.

Briar kicks off her heels and curls up on the couch next to her. She cradles her hot cup of coffee in her hands and takes a few tentative sips.

"So how’d things go with Melody?”

Briar smiles. “They went well! We had a hexcellent time. We both got three good jumps in before it started raining too hard. After that we hung out with Cerise and Cedar in the student lounge until I was falling asleep on the couch.”

“That’s it?”

“Yup, that’s it."

"You didn't-"

"I told you it wasn’t a date. I don’t know if she likes me. Hex, I don’t even know if she likes girls. And I have no idea how to ask her without implying that I'm interested in her. Why does crushing on a girl have to come with this whole extra dimension of complications?”

"Welcome to my world Briar."

“How did you and Raven get past the awkward and start dating? I know you talked about it on Blondie’s MirrorCast show, but really, how did you guys do it?”

“That's… actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Are you up for a story?” 

“I’ve got all morning.”

Apple glances around the cafe to make certain none of her classmates are nearby. The patrons are still decades older than her, and they’re all engrossed in their own conversations. There's enough noise and chatter to mask their conversation to anyone walking in. She checks the windows for any eavesdropping swans perched outside, and finds the coast is clear.

“There’s a couple things I haven’t told you about Raven and I’s relationship.” 

“Like what?”

“You know how Duchess has been yelling that we're only dating to make royals and rebels get along?”

Briar nods.

“Yeah, uh… she’s not completely wrong. We only became a couple because we wanted to ease the royal/rebel tensions, not because we had any feelings for each other." 

Briar crosses her arms and turns away to look out the window. Through the reflection Apple can see the disappointed look on her face.

"So, this whole time it's all been a lie?"

"No, not all of it. The relationship is still fake. But I've figured out that my feelings for her are real. I'm not pretending to be in love with Raven anymore because I am."

Apple's hit with the gravity of what she's just done. She's finally let out what she's been holding in for so long. It’s liberating to have all her secrets out in the open with someone she trusts with her life. For the first time in weeks she can let her guard down and be herself. She doesn't have to pretend. 

This is the first time she's acknowledged it aloud. By admitting it to Briar, she's admitting it to herself. She's a lesbian. She's in love. She's okay.

"I'm sorry I can't help much with your situation with Melody. I'm in the same boat as you. I'm in love with a girl and I'm stumbling around and trying to figure out what to do about it. It's not any easier when everyone thinks I've accepted your sexuality when really I'm a confused and questioning mess." 

"Yeah. It must have been difficult." Briar says, still not looking at her. There's an iciness in her voice.

"Hey, you're not mad I kept this from you, are you?

"No, not mad. Just a little hurt, I suppose. Did you not trust me to keep it a secret?"

"No, that's not it at all. Raven and I didn't plan on telling  _ anyone _ . People just kept finding out accidentally. But you're right, I should have told you. We're best friends forever after. We shouldn't have secrets."

Briar turns to her with a soft smile. "Well, I guess it's okay for us to have a couple of secrets. And I've fallen prey to the whole royal/rebel rivalry thing too, so I've been benefitting from the ruse. "

Apple grins back. "If it makes you feel any better you're the first person either of us has intentionally told."

"Who else knows besides me?"

"There's four other people. Duchess, who overheard me and Raven talking about it. Kitty and Maddie, who overheard the Narrator." Apple frowns. "And Dexter, who Raven swears she only told on accident."

"You don't sound too thrilled about that last one."

"I know it's petty and childish to be jealous, but you've seen how head-over-heels Dexter is about Raven. And Raven… well she doesn't not like him back." 

Briar raises an eyebrow. "She doesn't  _ not _ like him back?"

“She's… confused about her feelings for him. Either way, Dexter has a better chance with her than I do. She's made it clear she only thinks of me as a friend. And yet I still get my hopes up every time I’m around her. It feels like I’m stuck in an eternal game of ‘she loves me, she loves me not’.”

“Raven cares about you a lot. That’s obvious to anyone. And you never know. Sometimes people can surprise you in the best of ways."

She and Briar spend the rest of the morning catching up on Royal Student Council business and offering each other advice as best they can. She never realized how refreshing and helpful it is to have someone in her corner who knows what she’s going through. Briar helps make everything starts to feel less scary and foreign.

Apple decides not to take Raven on her offer for lunch, and instead splits a deli sandwich from the Hocus Latte with Briar on their walk back to school. They part ways when they reach the main gates.

Something Briar told her circles around in her mind. While she works on thronework, tidies up her room, hangs out with Blondie in the student lounge. It leaves a mark on Apple that lasts the entire afternoon and into the evening.

_ Progress doesn’t come all at once, but in baby steps. _

She can’t expect to go overnight from being scared witless she’s not straight to shouting from the rooftops she's a lesbian and in love with Raven. It’s going to take time, and it’s okay to take things slow.

Talking to Briar is one baby step. She thinks she’s ready to take another. She can’t tell Raven about her feelings yet. That’s a monster leap, not a baby step. But maybe she can talk to her parents, or at least her Dad. The thought of telling her mother about this stuff makes her stomach churn.

She types in her home number, but hesitates before pressing call. As soon as she does there is no going back. She steadies herself, closes her eyes, and pushes the button.

The dial tone plays. One ring. Two rings. Three. Maybe it will go to voicemail and she can put this off a little longer without it being her fault.

"Hello?”

Her Dad picks up on the fourth ring.

“Hi, it’s me. Is now a good time to talk?”

“Of course! I can always make time for my favorite daughter."

She rolls her eyes. "I'm your only daughter Dad."

"I know. That's why you're my favorite. Let me go grab your Mother. I think she's around here somewhere.”

“Actually, this is something I wanted to talk to just you about.”

“Sure, is everything all right?”

"Yes, I’m fine. It’s just- I lied to you and mom. Well I didn’t hexactly lie. I let you guys believe a falsehood without correcting you. Which I guess is still lying because it's a lie of omission and it was wrong of me to-”

“Apolline, slow down. What is it?”

“You know the detention I got for PDA a few weeks ago?  It uh… wasn’t with Daring.”

Her father clicks his tongue. “Well that makes sense. I ran into Mr. and Mrs. Charming at the bookball game last weekend. I thought it was odd when they didn’t seem to know anything about it. So if it wasn't Daring, who was it?"

“Promise you won't be mad?”

“Oh no, was it one of those crazy Merry Men? Is my sweet, darling daughter dating an outlaw?”

She stifles a laugh. Leave it to her Dad and his silly sense of humor to make her feel less nervous.

“No Dad, it wasn't one of them."

"Good, because you are not allowed to date any of those rockstar boys with the leather jackets and the crazy hair."

“Uh... what about rockstar  _ girls _ with leather jackets and crazy hair?”

She waits for her Dad to respond. She is going to explode from this silence. Every second he doesn't say something is another second she worries she let him down. 

"Oh. Well uh… does she have any tattoos?"

"No."

"Does she ride a motorcycle?"

"No. She doesn't have her license yet."

"Stay out all night partying?"

"Definitely not."

“Okay, good. She passes all of my tests. I- this certainly wasn't what I was hexpecting, but thank you for telling me."

"I’m sorry for keeping it from you. I was scared you and mom would disapprove. Dad, this isn't a phase, and I'm not sure where my destiny is supposed to go from here. I know how important my legacy is to you and Mom and I don’t want to let you guys down.”

"Apolline, you could never, ever let us down. Your happiness is always going to be more important than some story. And if you're happy, I'm happy. We can work out the kinks later."

"Thank you so much Dad."

"Of course. I love you, always. And your mother loves you too. I'll let you tell her when you're ready."

Warmth swells in her chest, and her guilty conscience is finally at ease. Her Dad is now one more person she doesn’t have to tiptoe around. She feels so happy and free she could burst.

"So you never mentioned, who is this rockstar girl that's swept you off your feet and encouraged you to break school rules?"

“It's Raven, Dad. She and I are dating. Sort of. Not really. It's kind of a long story."

"Then why don't you start from the beginning?"

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed this chapter is shorter than usual. That's because I cut a chunk out to use next chapter (I thought it worked better in Raven's POV). Expect the next chapter to be a little longer.
> 
> I really wanted to be done by the end of the year, but it's not looking very likely. Expect chapter 13 in January sometime and chapter 14 after that.
> 
> Kudos and Comments are appreciated!!


	13. Chapter 13

"I'll be ready in a sec Apple!" Raven calls, her words obscured by the hair elastic between her teeth. "My jacket's got to be around here somewhere."

Apple tuts from underneath the door frame. Raven's not sure what it's in reference to. The clothes strewn haphazardly across the floor. The ferns, drooping and brown at the tips in their bone dry pots. The stale scent of microwave mac and cheese, her dinner last night, still circulating in the air. Knowing Apple it's probably a combination of all three, along with her general lack of organization.

At last she finds her school jacket hidden underneath a pile of pillows on her bed. After she finishes tying her hair into a high ponytail she slips it over her shoulders. She moves to join Apple at the door but stops midway. She picks up her pitcher and drenches her ferns, not stopping until water spills over the pots and onto the floor.

"You know you'd be able to find your clothes a lot easier if you hung them up in your closet." Apple chides at her.

"Hey, you were the one who wanted me to be more festive for Friday Pride-day. If it were up to me I wouldn't have bothered."

Apple rolls her eyes and takes her hand. Together they make their way to the castleteria.

With the first home playoff game tonight the whole school should be buzzing with energy, but the hallways are quieter than normal. Conversations cease as they pass by. Their classmates stare them down with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. Apple waves at a few friends from Princessology only to get the cold shoulder. She fidgets uncomfortably at her side.

“Raven, is it just me or are people staring at us?” 

“People are always staring at us.”

“I suppose so, but this isn't normal staring. They're giving us dirty looks.”

Raven shrugs. “People are always giving me dirty looks.”

As if on cue, Poppy storms over to them and points a sharp finger at their clasped hands.

“I don't believe it! You're still together? How could you forgive her after what  _ she _ did?”

"Poppy, c'mon let them be." Holly puts her hand on her sister's arm to guide her away, but not before giving them both a stern glare over her shoulder.

She and Apple share flummoxed looks.

“What did you do?” Raven asks.

“Me? I thought she was talking to you!”

"But I haven't-" Her breath hitches, and she stops mid sentence. 

_ Dexter. _

No, there's no way they could know about that. 

She was careful. She took a hundred different precautions to ensure their date looked like a friendly outing. Only three people in the entire school know the truth: Maddie, Dexter, and herself. Her friends would never betray her like that, and she sure as hex didn't say anything. Unless - she didn't let something slip to Faybelle on accident, did she?

Apple squeezes her hand. “Let’s find Blondie. If anyone knows what's going on it's her.” 

Raven's heart pounds at full force as they continue to the castleteria. Apple hangs her head low and takes care to avoid any potential confrontations with their classmates. Goosebumps prickle up her arms at the sight of so many icy stares pointed their way. 

Raven takes a few calming breaths, trying to quiet the thoughts racing around at lightning speed in her brain. She's getting too worked up over this. She doesn't even know what this is about. It could be something entirely different. She shouldn't assume the worst. 

But if it's not her and Dexter, then what  _ is  _ it? What else could one of them have done to make her the school pariah overnight?

They find Blondie in the castelteria finishing off her breakfast. She smiles, her cheeks full like a chipmunks with porridge, and waves them over to her table.

"There you are! I've been hoping to get a statement from you about this rumor flying around."

“What rumor?" Apple asks. "Blondie, what in Ever After is going on? ”

“I take it neither of you have been on the MirrorNet this morning?”

They both shake their heads.

Blondie gives her a sympathetic look. “An anonymous contributor posted a picture of you from last weekend on the School's MirrorNet page. I think it looks innocent and friendly, but other people seem to interpret it as you uh… being unfaithful."

All color drains from Raven’s face, and she thinks she might be sick. It feels like someone clobbered her over the head with an anvil. She plops down at the table next to Blondie because her legs are trembling too hard to stand.

She can see it in her mind's eye. A picture of her smiling adoringly at Dexter as he hands her that stupid bouquet of roses. Darnit, she told him a dozen times they needed to be inconspicuous.  _ This _ is what she was trying to avoid. 

Apple huffs. "What? There has to be some kind of misunderstanding. Can I see this picture Blondie?"

Blondie swipes through her MirrorPad to find the incriminating image. Raven bites her lip. She can't let Apple find out about her date like this. Blondie shrieks as she knocks her MirrorPad out of her hands.

"Apple I can ex- huh?"

Raven stares dumbfounded at the MirrorPad. Her jaw just about drops to the floor.  _ What the hex? _ It's not her and Dexter. It's Apple and Sparrow.

People were genuinely convinced  _ this _ is proof Apple and Sparrow went on a date.

If she hadn't been so worried she'd find this hilarious. 

Apple and Sparrow are good actors, but she can tell both their smiles mask their loathing. Apple's is polite and plastered on, the same smile she uses when talking to someone she finds particularly unpleasant. Sparrow's got an arm around her shoulder, but otherwise he holds himself at a distance from her. Neither of them look happy to be there. 

People really will believe anything these days. 

Apple peers over at the MirrorPad. She snorts, then lets loose the most raucous, undignified bout of laughter Raven has ever witnessed from anyone. She collapses into one of the castleteria chairs and bangs her fist on the table.

“Holy hex! You guys - you guys actually think that was a date? I can't even-" She wipes away tears from her eyes. "Grimm, I'm gay! Did the entire school forget that overnight?" 

Blondie's cheeks tinge pink. "Well, I didn't think it was true."

Apple takes a few breaths to get her laughter under control. "Sorry Blondie, I wasn't specifically accusing you. I'd be more than happy to squash this rumor on your show."

"Great! Let me hext Humphrey."

Humphrey, it turns out, is only sitting three tables away from them. It takes them less than five minutes to get all their equipment set up. Just enough time for a crowd of onlookers to form around them, attracted by the noise and promise of potential gossip.

"And we're live in five-four-three" Humphrey silences and counts down the remaining numbers on his hand.

"Hello fellow Fairytales! Blondie Lockes here with the scoop on the rumors surrounding Apple, Sparrow, and their potential infidelity. Here with me to clear things up is none other than Apple White."

Humphrey points the MirrorPad towards Apple. She waves at it adoringly.

"Hello everyone! Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Sparrow and I did not go on a date. We met at the Hocus Latte and took a spellfie together. That's it. Neither of us have any romantic feelings for the other."

Apple laces her fingers with hers, and holds their clasped hands up to the camera. Raven smiles, hoping she doesn't look guilty. 

"I am very much in love with Raven, and I would never dream of going on dates with anyone else. However, I am allowed to hang out with other people besides her. In fact, I had lunch the same day with Briar. I've yet to see anyone accusing me of secretly seeing her, and I've made it very clear I'm attracted to women.”

There's a noise from the crowd as someone tries to elbow their way through to get to the front. Sparrow emerges and dashes over to them, pushing them away so he can be on camera with Blondie. Apple frowns at him from offscreen, but Raven watches curiously, wondering where in Ever After this is going. 

“It's true. Apple and I didn't do anything! I was blackmailed into taking that picture with her!"

There's a shocked gasp from the onlookers, and Apple's eyes practically bulge out of her head. Even Blondie seems to be at a loss for words

"Well… this is certainly a new development. Sparrow, care to share your story?"

He nods. " _ Someone _ wanted to play a dirty trick to prove Apple and Raven aren't really dating. They told me to pose with Apple and make it look like a date, and if I didn’t the Royal Student Council would cut funding for the rock band club. Which I found out from Apple they can't do anyway and it was total bull-"

"Woah there." Blondie says before he can finish. "Sparrow, can you tell us who blackmailed you?"

Sparrow glares at someone in the crowd, saying nothing. Raven follows his gaze, and is not at all surprised who it lands on. Of course Duchess is the one responsible. She'd do anything to sabotage their relationship. Raven can feel her invisible fingerprints all over this mess. 

"Duchess is that true?"  Apple asks.

She scoffs. “I didn’t say we’d cut funding to the rock band club. I only suggested we might have to review their application closer because of the disciplinary infractions by its members."

"Duchess you know that's not how the budget allocation works. That's a total abuse of your power. Not to mention, as we've told you a dozen times already, our relationship isn't fake." 

"She's lying! I heard her say that she and Raven are only pretending to date to force Royals and Rebels to get along!"

Sparrow groans. “Duchess, knock it off already! I told you this wouldn’t work! Anyone who’s spent five minutes with Apple and Raven can tell you their relationship is the real deal.”

Duchess glares darkly. "I know what I heard."

"Well I think that about wraps up today's newscast." Blondie says, nudging Duchess and Sparrow off camera. "Tune in tonight for our pregame coverage as our Ever After High Rebels take on the Charmington West Gladiators in the semifinals! Blondie Lockes, signing out."

Throughout the day people apologize to Apple for thinking the worst of her. Poppy begs her at lunch for forgiveness for her outburst in the morning. Apple takes it with grace, and is quicker to forgive than Raven would be if the script were flipped.

Then again, if people accused her of cheating, they wouldn't technically be wrong. 

All day she has to keep reminding herself she didn't do anything wrong. Her relationship with Apple isn't real. She's free to see who she pleases. Apple told her it was fine to explore her feelings for Dexter. 

But the more she insists this to herself, the more the knots tighten in her stomach. There's only one way to fix this: come clean. 

The weekend brings an unexpected heatwave. Bookball games usually mean bundling up with layers of sweaters and blankets. but tonight she leaves her jacket in her room because it's sweltering outside. She wears a loose fitting t-shirt and running shorts and she's still sweating.

Maddie sits next to her in the bleachers, sipping her hexberry slushie with a red and purple crazy straw. Her tongue, lips, and teeth look like someone coated them with blue paint. She’s had so much sugar she can barely sit still. Raven takes a sip of her frozen lemonade, cold and full of sugar, but much less colorful.

Apple waves at them from the concession stand, and her heels clink as she walks across the bleachers.

“Hey guys! Mind if I join you!”

“Of course Miss Apple!” Maddie says. Raven nods in agreement and scooches over to make room. Apple makes herself cozy next to her, kicking off her heels and stealing a licorice wand from the package at her side.

"Oh look! Darling's petition to play on the team got approved!" She points at Darling, who's sitting on the bench and applying thick, black stripes to her cheeks. Dexter helps lace up her shoes as best he can with his bandaged arm. He notices her staring, blushes furiously red, and looks back down at his sister's laces. 

Since their date she's gotten this strange feeling he's trying to avoid her, but she hasn't pressed the issue. She hasn't exactly been eager to talk to him either.

Maddie nods. "Briar and I presented it to the Headmasters this morning, and they approved! We were going to announce it on Blondie's MirrorCast show today, but you and Raven kind of dominated the news."

Apple bites her lip. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine. It worked out alright because Darling wanted it to stay under wraps. She wants to be our secret weapon!" Maddie laughs and takes another big gulp of her slushie.

Raven turns to Apple. “Hey, you handled that MirrorCast show this morning really well.” 

“Thanks Raven.” She tucks a lock of curls behind her ear and giggles.

"Uh... what you said to Blondie about being gay. Did you- are you-"

"And introducing your Ever After High School Rebels!!!" The announcer's voice booms over the loudspeakers. The spectators roar as Daring charges out from behind a paper banner, the rest of the team following behind.

If Apple answers her question, she doesn't hear it over the marching band playing the school fight song.

Raven holds her tongue through the first half of the game. She cheers along with the crowd, her heart not really into it. All she can concentrate on is Apple sitting next to her, her warm, soft hand resting on top of hers. Raven can only hope she won't be disappointed in her when she finds out she lied.

She finally works up the courage to speak during the cheerhexer's halftime performance.

“Hey Apple?"

"Hmm?"

"There’s something I’ve want to tell you. It’s kind of important."

Apple's face hardens. “Raven, what is it?"

“You remember last week when I went to the movies with Dexter and Maddie?" She drops her voice to a whisper so only Apple can hear. 

She nods.

"Well I didn't mention it before but, it was um...  a date. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. I figured it didn't matter. But with everything that happened today, you deserved to know the whole truth.”

Raven waits for her to react. To have an outburst of emotion. Forgiveness or anger or something. Apple just stares at her with a blank expression. 

“Oh. Okay. Thank you for telling me.”  Her voice sounds hollow.

“Apple, I'm really sorry.”

"Don't be. You're free to see whoever you want. It's not like either of us has real feelings for each other anyway." She stands up, not noticing the half-empty bag of popcorn she knocks over in the process. "I’m going to go find Briar. I'll see you later."

She doesn’t turn around as she races up the steps. 

The Rebels win 56-8, with 50 points scored by either Cerise or Darling. They'll face off against Beanstalk High in a thronecoming rematch next Friday for the Championship trophy. Given how hard they crushed them last time, Ever After is a shoe-in for the title.

Raven skips the victory bash after the game ends. She doesn't feel much like celebrating. When she enters back into the castle she all but collides into someone leaving. Briar struggles to open the door and not drop a heavy-looking spotlight. Raven steps out of the way and holds the door open for her. 

"Sorry! I- oh, it's you." Briar's tone shifts when they make eye contact, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up.

"Yeah, uh.. it's me. Sorry I'm skipping out on the party. I've got a stomach ache."  

It's not quite a lie. Her stomach is still tied up in knots. She thought telling Apple the truth would make her feel better. Instead the guilt sits in her gut like an unmoving, unyielding lump

"That's fine. You just do whatever the hex you want Raven. You're good at that." She sneers under her breath before bustling back towards the party. 

Raven watches her go, shifting uncomfortably in her shoes. Something awful must have ruffled Briar's feathers to put her in such a foul mood. Especially right before the biggest bash of the school year. It almost seemed like her anger was directed at her, but that doesn't make sense. She hasn't done anything to upset Briar. 

She doesn't talk to Apple the rest of the weekend. Apple doesn't attempt to contact her either. It makes her wonder, which of them is the one giving the other space? 

They stay out of each other's orbit until Monday morning, when there's a tiny knock on her dorm room door.

"Raven? Sweetie? Did you want to get breakfast?"

She sits up in bed. She hadn't forgotten about breakfast with Apple. She assumed Apple wouldn't want to, and decided to sleep in.

"Uh… yeah, I'll be ready in a minute." She throws on a dress, smooths out her hair, and hopes Apple won't notice she rolled out of bed. 

Apple seems chipper, or at least she's made herself presentable enough so no one would think something is wrong. They don't talk about her confession on Friday. The only mention of bookball comes in Apple telling her the Royal Student Council is holding extra meetings to plan for the championship game, and she might not have as much free time as usual this week.  

Raven gets the hint. She wants to spend less time with her. 

Breakfast on Monday is usually a quiet affair. Everyone is still waking up and recovering from the weekend. The Merry Men didn't seem to get this memo, as the argument at their table is loud enough to hear from the hallway. She and Apple do their best to ignore it as they eat, but it becomes impossible when there's a loud crack as Jack Little punches Billy Scarlet's nose. 

Every head in the castleteria turns toward the sound. A few let out horrified gasps, a few more egg them on. Apple casts a nervous glance her way, as though she's not sure one of them should risk trying to break the brawl up. 

Fortunately, they don't have to do anything. The fight ends as quick as it starts. The Headmasters sprint over to the table and pry them apart. 

"Is there a problem here?" Headmaster Grimm looms over them. 

"No Headmasters." Jack and Billy say in unison.

"Then I suggest you visit the infairmary and get cleaned up. After that come to our office where we will discuss your punishment." 

Jack and Billy hang their heads low and shuffle out of the castleteria, the headmasters following close behind. Not long after the warning bell rings. She and Apple return their dishes and join the crowd of students on their way to class.

“Whatever after do you think that fight was about?” Apple asks.

"I dunno.” 

"I wonder…" Apple taps her chin. "Billy's a Royal, and I'm pretty sure Jack's a Rebel. Do you think it had anything to do with destiny?"

Raven's chest tightens. She doesn't like where this conversation is going. 

"It's possible I guess, but the Merry Men are always getting into stupid, petty fights. It probably wasn't something serious."

"I suppose so." Apple bites her lip, gives her a contemplative look, and drops her voice to barely a whisper. "Raven, have you thought about how we're going to break up?”

Apple's words pierce through her chest like an arrow. Cold, sharp, and poised to kill. 

"What? Apple why are you-"

“I’m not saying we should break up. I'm just asking if you've thought about it?"

She shakes her head slowly. "No, I haven't. I don't see why we should worry about it. It's not like we're breaking up anytime soon."

"Are you sure about that? You've seen the way people are acting lately. If this - _ us _ \- isn’t working anymore, then there’s no point in staying together, is there?”

"I'm willing to keep this up for as long as you want to."

Apple sighs. "But I don't want to ask that of you Raven. You deserve to be happy. I don't want to get in the way if you have feelings for someone else."

Raven starts to protest, but stops, realizing how stupid she sounds. She can't just blurt out she doesn't want to be with anyone else. That she doesn't have any romantic feelings towards Dexter, but it's possible, likely even, she has them towards her. Apple would freak out. 

"So how do we do it?" Apple asks again. "Breakups are messy. People take sides, which could make things worse. I don't want one of us to be the bad guy who broke the other person’s heart.”

“Why don't we talk about this later?"

Raven looks around at the crowd of students, thinning as they enter their classrooms. They've said too much in public already. At least Duchess' first class is all the way across campus in the dance studio. It's unlikely she was around to overhear.

"Yeah, let's do that. I'll see you later Raven." Apple says before heading down the stairs for Home Evilnomics.

By the time Raven makes it up the stairs for Mythology Cupid and Briar are the only people left in the hallway. Cupid wears a grin that takes up half her face and flutters lazily into their classroom. Briar smiles along with her, but her expression goes cold upon seeing Raven.

"What's Cupid so over-the moon about?" She asks.

Briar glowers at her. "Why don't you ask her yourself."

The bell rings, but Briar doesn't head into their Mythology classroom. Instead she crosses her arms and stares her down with an unimpressed look. 

"Briar, why are you acting like this? Did I do something to upset you?"

"I know about you and Dexter. Apple told me everything."

Raven scrunches her brows. Apple's made it clear she's not mad at her over Dexter, so why in Ever After is Briar?

"Then you know I didn't do anything wrong."

"Who are you trying to convince? Me, or yourself?"

She sputters. "I had Apple's permission. And it's not like our relationship is-  well y'know. Apple doesn't have real feelings for me." 

"You're really that dense, huh?" Briar scoffs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Fine, if Apple hasn't said anything to you then I won't. But you know what you did really hurt her right?"

"I didn't mean to hurt her." 

"Maybe so, but you still did. Apple might be willing to overlook it, but I'm not so quick to forgive people who break my best friend forever after's heart."

Professor Nimble pokes his head out the door. "Girls, class has started. Please come in. I don't want to mark you as tardy."

Briar has to be exaggerating. She couldn't break Apple's heart. Apple doesn't love her as anything more than a friend. Though, maybe her offer to date Dexter wasn't as sincere as she first interpreted it. Maybe she only said it to be polite, not thinking Raven would take it. And at first Raven had said no to it. Maybe she should have told her she changed her mind before acting on it.  

Still, let down, disappointed, or even angry seem to be the right word to describe Apple's reaction. Not heartbroken.

Raven's classes drag, and she doesn't catch a word of what her Professors' say. Maddie offers her notes because over she heard from the narrators she was having trouble paying attention. Her school day ends spectacularly when Baba Yaga dismisses her early from her hextra magic lessons because she can't hocus focus. 

Raven slumps into her bed, feeling worse than ever. Right now all she wants is her sheets to swallow her whole. It takes all her energy to reach over and pick up her vibrating MirrorPhone. 

Sent from Dexter at 4:38 PM

_ Hey are you busy right now? There's something I want to talk to you about. _

She sighs. Dexter's the last person she wants to talk to. She knows it's going to break his heart when she tells him they can't see each other anymore. 

She loves Dexter, but one disastrous date with him showed her affection doesn't go beyond friendship. She thinks a part of her always knew that, but she kept that part of her silent. A portion of this guilt she carries on her shoulders must come from how she used him as a guinea pig to test her feelings on, or lack of feelings for someone else.

She may as well get this over with. What's one more person on her list of people she's disappointed this week?

Sent at 4:40 PM

_ Sure. Meet me in my room? _

Not five minutes later Dexter knocks on her door. She gets out of bed and invites him in.

"So, you said you wanted to talk?" She asks as they settle on her sofa by the window.

"Yeah, something happened this weekend and I-"

"Actually there's something I need to tell you first." She swallows, gathering up all the courage to bring these words to life. "Dexter I like you a lot, but I think you’re feelings for me are… stronger than my feelings for you.”

"Raven-"

"I wanted us to work. It made sense, you know?  You hear all the time about friends turned lovers, so when I found out you liked me I decided to like you back.”

"Raven-"

“Dex, if we keep seeing each other in secret you’re always going to come second to Apple, and that’s not fair to you. You deserve someone who will love you with their whole heart and I’m sorry-”

“Raven!” 

Dexter bites his lip. His chest heaves with unsaid words. 

She stops, realizing she's steamrolled over Dexter and what he wants to say. She's too wrapped up in her own drama. She needs to get out of her head.

“I have something to tell you too. It might make this easier."

"What's that?"

"Right before the game last Friday, Cupid uh… she kissed me." Dexter smiles sheepishly as a rosy blush sweeps across his cheeks.

Of all the things she expected him to say, that wasn't it. Still, the jealousy that once coursed through her at the thought of them being together isn't there. She smiles along with him.

"And did you kiss her back?"

He looks away from her, then nods. "It was totally unhexpected. I didn't plan it or anything. I'd never thought about her like that before and I had no idea she felt that way for me." 

Raven laughs. "Dexter, Cupid's been head-over-wings for you ever since she transferred here."

"What? No! She- how did I not realize?"

"Probably the same way I didn't notice you were in love with me when it was so obvious to everyone else. It's harder to notice the object of affection when you are the object."

"Yeah, funny how it works that way. Still, I'm really, really sorry Raven."

"Don't be. We weren't exclusive or anything."

"I know. It's not that. You just seemed so eager to go on our date. I thought that meant you'd sorted through your feelings and figured out you liked me. I was scared I'd be hurting you when I told you I might like someone else. I guess I didn't have to worry."

She lets out a breathy laugh. "No, you didn't. And I was only eager to go out with you because I wanted to prove to myself I didn't have feelings for someone else. Which ended up backfiring on me hard, but that's beside the point. I'm sorry Dex. I shouldn't have taken advantage you like that."

"It's alright. I'm kinda over it anyway." He winces. "Ooh, is it bad that all it took for me to be over you was one spelltacular kiss from someone else?"

In another lifetime she may have been insulted, but right now all she can do is laugh.

"The heart wants what it wants Dex. I think Cupid's said something to that effect."

"It's weird how sometimes you can want something so badly, but when you get it you realize it isn't really what you want. I'd been dreaming about going on a date with you for forever after, but- I don't know how to put this nicely so... our date was probably the most awkward hexperience I've ever had."

She throws her head back and laughs. Before long Dexter joins in. All the nervousness and guilt that's built up these past few days bubbles out of her. Up, up, and away. 

"Holy hex it was so painful. I still can't believe you tried to hold my hand in the popcorn bowl!"

"What? No, I just accidentally brushed my hand against yours. I can't believe you shrieked and knocked the bowl out of your lap!" Dexter chuckles breathily. "Well however awkward it was, I'm glad we tried it. Even if it was just to find out we're better off as friends."

"Yeah, me too." She says. And she means it. She only wishes trying it out didn't come with all this hextra baggage.

"So you want to get dinner or something? " Dexter asks.

She shakes her head. "Maybe later. I'm not that hungry."

"Well I'm starving. I'm gonna head down to the castleteria."

"Okay, I'll see you later. I'm glad everything worked out between us, and I wish you and Cupid the best."

"Thanks! And I hope things work out with you and Apple too."

She furrows her brows. "Apple?"

"You know, the person you were trying to convince yourself you didn't have feelings for?"

"I never said it was Apple." She says quickly. She can feel herself blushing.

Dexter smiles. "Who else would you be talking about?"

Her conversation with Dexter leaves her feeling hopeful. She's still got to work things out with Apple, and Briar, but at least one part of her messed up romance novel of her life is under control. Finally she can relax a little. 

“Well that worked out for everyone.” 

Raven nearly jumps out of her skin. The mass on Faybelle's bed she thought was a pile of laundry moves. Faybelle sits up, her mascara smudged and her hair sticking up every which way. 

“What are you doing here?"

"I live here." She answers dryly.

"No, I meant don’t you have cheerhexing practice today?”

“Yeah, but the bookball team needed Hunter, Holly got locked in one of the dragon towers, and I felt a magical migraine coming on. So I cancelled practice and came back here to take a nap. Which I was doing until you and Dexter woke me up with your relationship woes.”

Raven's face flushes. She mentally kicks herself for not checking she was alone in her room before pouring her heart out. She hadn't even bothered to turn the lights back on. A month with Faybelle and she's adjusted to living in the dark. 

"So, I'm guessing you heard everything?"

“Yup.” Faybelle says, popping the p at the end. 

"And you're going to tell Duchess?"

"Nope."

"What? Why?"

"Because I don’t want to deal with her smug face when she finds out she was right the whole time. Though, that might not be entirely true anymore." She lets out a high-pitched laugh. "Oh my Godmother I can't believe you actually fell for her. That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Raven knits her brows, not entirely sure how to respond. Can't Faybelle be nice without insulting her at the same time?

"Uh... well thanks for agreeing not to mention it."

"Yeah, whatever."

Faybelle flops back over in her bed. 15 minutes later, she's cheer-hexing in her sleep.

Raven decides it's best not to tell Apple she's in on their secret, even if she swears she's not going to do anything about it. However, the smug, knowing looks Faybelle gives Apple in the morning when she comes to pick her up for breakfast are unbearable. At least they go over Apple's head.

"Attention students: please proceed to the Charmitorium after breakfast for a school assembly." Headmaster Grimm says over the loudspeakers next morning as they wait in line at the castleteria. 

Raven sighs. Can't they have a normal breakfast for once? This is the third time in a row something out of the ordinary has happened before 9 AM.

Everyone is abuzz about what this meeting is about. Nobody seems to know. Not even Blondie, who knows everything about everything. Hunter says it might be about bookball since Coach Gingerbreadman abruptly cancelled their morning practice. Briar wonders if her request to get Panic! At The Ballroom to perform at the halftime show went through, and this was how they were telling them. Faybelle says who cares, and tries to sneak back up to her dorm room before getting caught by Baba Yaga.

She and Apple sit next to each other in the front row of the charmitorioum. Apple pulls out her notepad and a feather pen, just in case she needs to jot something important down. Raven tries to munch on her toast without the Headmasters noticing. Food isn’t allowed in the Charmitorium.

Both Headmasters wear a cross expression. Headmaster Giles looks especially menacing. He’s the good cop to his brother's bad cop. If he's upset it must be serious.

"Students. I'd like you to take a look at this photograph I took this morning."

There's a murmur of surprise as a picture of the bookball field is projected onto the screen. It looks like Briar threw a raging party on the field but forgot to clean up. Thick green and gold streamers are strewn all over the place. But the most noteworthy part is the giant beanstalk planted right on the 50 yard line. Spray-painted on it in gigantic, gold letters:

_ "Rebels Suck." _

“Vandalism of this sort is not tolerated at this school." Headmaster Grimm says. "Someone in this room is responsible for this. When we find out who is responsible there will be consequences."

"If anyone knows anything we expect you to report it to us immediately. If the culprit is not found by the end of the week, my brother and I will have no choice but to cancel the victory party."

The entire charmitorium lets out a horrified gasp.

"What?" Briar shouts, sounding devastated. "You can't do that!"

"We can Ms. Beauty, and we will."

Raven leaves the auditorium feeling stiff and devastated. It's hard to miss Briar, Blondie, and the rest of the royals giving the rebels the stink eye. The conflict is back in full swing. Her relationship with Apple is a band aid on a bullet hole. They can't fix this.

She already knows what Apple is going to say before she says it.

“Raven, do you remember what we talked about yesterday? I think it’s best we end this.”

Raven nods, feeling helpless as her heart sinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's a holiday dealing with love and romance coming up! that's when I hope to post chapter 14!!!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated.


	14. Chapter 14

Apple is confident the Headmasters' threat will persuade the bookball field vandal to turn themselves in. They must be reeling with guilt at being the guy who got the victory spellebration cancelled. Throughout the day she keeps Blondie's MirrorCast Show on in the background, certain she'll hear someone's been reprimanded and slapped with detention for the rest of the school year.

Things don't work out like she hoped. Tuesday bleeds into Wednesday and the culprit is still at large.

She waits through Wednesday less hopeful but still optimistic. The culprit must have realized now the Headmasters aren't bluffing. It's no fun to be in trouble, but it's their own fault for doing something so careless. There's still time for them to do the right thing and turn themselves in.

Come thursday morning most of her hope is replaced with irritation. Whoever did this is being selfish. It isn't fair for the whole school to be punished for the actions of one moron.

It's not the victory spellebration she's upset about now. A party is the least of her concerns when royals and rebels are at all out war with each other again. She can't make it down the hall without hearing two people call eachother names. At least a dozen student have detention for roughhousing. No one's been injured yet, but she has a sick feeling in her gut that could change fast.

If someone doesn't step forward soon, Apple's scared the whole school will be torn in two.

On Tuesday the Royal Student Council voted unanimously to suspend all normal activity and focus on cleaning up the bookball field. They scrubbed the spray paint off the bleachers and picked up all the trash and streamers. They almost have the bookball field back to its former, pristine glory. They left the hardest part for last: the beanstalk-- still standing tall and ugly smack dab on the 50 yard line.

Their initial thought was to chop it down. Their attempt went belly up fast when Hunter took an axe to its trunk it oozed out a thick, black jelly that reeked like dead fish. Apple thought she was going to pass out, and several others had to flee the scene for fresh air. By the time they all recovered the beanstalk had magically healed itself. 

No one was keen on trying again.

From there they moved onto other ideas. They had Tiny try to yank it out of the ground, but when he grabbed it his hands broke out into angry, red hives. Turns out he's allergic to whatever kind of beanstalk this is. They tied a rope around one of the upper branches and tried to pull it down. It was a game of tug-of-war the beanstalk won. Apple found a weed repellent potion in her home evilnomics hextbook. All it did was kill the grass and turn the beanstalk yellow for a few hours.

To say they're clueless on how to tackle this beanstalk is the understatement of the century. They're running out of time, ideas, and patience. If they can't get it out by tonight they'll have to move the game to Beanstalk High, which would deal a huge blow to the bookball team. They've had problems in the past with biased Giant-Land referees, and there's no way they'd get a fair game.

Today Briar shows up with a flamethrower intent on burning the thing down. Apple is almost crazy enough to let her do it, but they haven't reached that level of desperation. Besides, with their luck they'd burn down the whole school, minus the beanstalk.

Apple takes a more logical approach. She asks Raven, Faybelle, and Farrah, the school's most powerful magic wielders, to try and conjure up a spell to remove the beanstalk. Everyone else grabs a shovel and attempts to dig it up by the roots.

She and Briar work on a thick root snaking around one of the goalposts. Digging is exhausting work. In this moment she doesn't envy the dwarves in her story who work in the mines all day. Her hands are starting to cramp up. She shovels one more load of dirt out of the ground before dropping her shovel to shake them out.

When she looks up from her work she notices another thick, green streamer hanging from the goal post. They must have missed it during their initial clean-up. She stands on her toes and yanks it down.

Apple's thought from the beginning there's something off about this vandalism. For one thing, the colors are all Beanstalk High's shade of gold and green. It would make more sense for them to be red for the royals, or red and purple for the school. Now, as she studies this stray streamer, she notices a Beanstalk High logo printed in one of the corners.

Her thoughts go interrupted as Briar grunts a few feet away from her. She plunges her shovel into the ground, scoops up a heavy load of dirt, and heaves it over her shoulder before repeating the process again. And again and again. Her face is scrunched up hard in concentration, and a line of sweat glistens on her forehead.

"Briar, you're going to wear yourself out fairy fast if you keep working like that."

"I know. It's just-- Grimm, I'm so angry. All the time I put into planning the victory spellebration is going to waste because some idiot thought it would be funny to plant a beanstalk on the bookball field."

"Hey, we don't know if the party's totally off yet. The game's not until tomorrow. Who knows, they could still turn themselves in."

"I wish I had your optimism." Briar sighs and wipes her forehead with the back of her hand. "Maybe I should tell the headmasters I did it so we could still have the party."

"But then you wouldn't be able to go. The Headmasters said whoever's responsible is banned from all school activities for the rest of their academic career."

"Yeah, but at least the spellebration would be back on. I'd rather miss my own party than not have a party at all."

"That's fairy noble of you Briar, but you shouldn't let the real culprit get away with this." Apple frowns, and crumples up the streamer in her hand with a loud, satisfying crunch. "Whoever did this deserves to be punished."

Briar nods. "And in addition to whatever punishment the Headmasters give them, they are officially uninvited to all my future parties."

"As it should be."

"And speaking of people uninvited to my parties, look who's coming."

Apple rolls her eyes and pouts at Briar when she spots Raven headed their way.

"Hey Sweetie." Raven's breathing is heavy, and her skin is paler than usual, but she smiles at them all the same. "I wanted to let you know Faybelle, Farrah, and I tried everything we could, but nothing worked."

Briar scoffs. "Well obviously. This thing is still planted in the ground."

Raven's brows furrow. She opens her mouth as if to defend herself, but instead clamps it shut and stares at her shoes. The faintest blush sweeps across her cheeks.

"Thank you for trying Raven. We appreciate it." Apple smiles.  She nudges Briar's arm to get her to say something kind. She grunts, which Apple supposes is the best she can get.

"It wasn't any trouble. Faybelle and Farrah are headed back to cheerhexing practice, but I can stick around and help you guys dig if you want."

"Oh no, you don't have to. I don't want you to overhextend yourself."

"I don't mind. I want this thing out of here as much as you guys do."

"Okay, but take a break first, alright? You look hexhausted."

Raven nods and heads towards the bleachers, where Ginger's set up a refreshment table with lemonade and freshly baked cookies. Once she's far enough away Apple glares at Briar.

"Would you stop being so mean to Raven? I already told you I'm not mad at her."

"Yes, but  _ I am _ mad at her Apple. What Raven did was spellfish, and more importantly, she left you hurting and heartbroken."

"She didn't do it on purpose."

"That doesn't matter. Just because it wasn't on purpose doesn't mean it's ok."

"What do you want me to do Briar? I can't force Raven to like me. And it only makes me feel worse knowing my two best friends are fighting because of me. Please, can you back off on her a little?"

Briar's expression softens. "Okay fine, I'll lighten up. But it's for your sake only. I still don't approve of how she set up her date behind your back. And I think you should tell her how you feel."

"Or we can just keep digging and not talk about my feelings." Apple says quickly.

Apple shovels into the ground and bangs onto something hard. The vibration runs from the shovel tip to her hands, and she yelps out in pain. She looks up and realizes she's hit the wooden fence separating the bookball field from the rest of the school.

"Grimm, how long does this thing go on for?"

"Actually, we wanted to talk to you guys about that." Blondie calls out from behind. She and Cedar approach them, both covered in dirt and sweat.

"We found a couple of roots that grow underneath the school." Cedar says.

Apple lets out a long, hard sigh. There goes her plan to dig this beanstalk up. She's not sure where to go from here. Briar's flamethrower idea seems a lot less crazy now.

"It's alright, we think we found someone who can help." Blondie says. Jillian steps out from behind them.

"Apple, do you know what kind of beanstalk this is?" Jillian asks.

She shakes her head. She can identify a few types of magic beans thanks to her home evilnomics class, but the beanstalks all look so similar.

"Uh… a tall one?" Briar suggests.

Jillian laughs. "No. It's called a solar behemoth beanstalk, and it gets its name because it's strongest during the daytime. At night its roots shrivel up, making it easier to plant, or in our case, unplant."

"Oh…" She and Briar say in unison. They've only tried to remove the beanstalk during the afternoon, stopping as the sun starts to set. Apple figured it would be too dark at night.

"You've got the right idea trying to dig it out though. You have to get rid of the roots or else it'll grow back. Plus when you try to chop it down it secretes a foul-smelling defensive sap."

"Yeah… we know." She winces, remembering Tuesday's disaster. She turns to Briar. "Want to call off the dig until later tonight?"

Briar shrugs. "It's your call. You're the president. Well, co-president, but since Maddie's at work you get to call the shots."

Apple sticks her fingers in her mouth and whistles. Activity ceases and heads turn her way. She clears her throat.

"Everyone listen up! We're going to try a different approach. Let's take a break and meet back here at 9 o'clock tonight to try and dig this thing out one more time."

Apple doesn't hear anyone complain as they set down their shovels and return back to school. She's ready to get out of here too. Her whole body feels sore, and she wants nothing more than to take a hot bath and never perform manual labor again. Briar, Blondie, and Cedar all retreat back to the castle together, but she hangs back a moment to talk to Jillian.

"Thank you so much for your help." Apple says, smiling. "It's fairy fortunate for us that you know so much about this beanstalk."

Jillian stares at her with a hard frown. "I didn't plant it here if that's what you're getting at."

"What? No, I didn't mean-"

"I know about this beanstalk because my dad's Jack from Jack and The Beanstalk. It's my destiny. Shouldn't you know something about that since your a  _ Royal _ ?"

"Jillian I'm sorry, that was poorly phrased. I wasn't accusing you, promise!"

"Good, because I'm a Rebel. Why would I spray paint 'Rebels Suck' in enormous letters onto it's base?"

"I don't know why anyone would do this, but I want to find out. Jillian, do you know where someone could buy these beans? Don't take that the wrong way, I'm not accusing you. You just seem like the right person to ask."

Jillian taps her chin. "I know The Mad Hatter's Haberdashery and Tea Shoppe sells solar behemoth bean tea. But I don't think they sell the beans whole, and you can't plant them after they've been ground up and steeped into tea."

"Is there anywhere else?"

She shakes her head. "The only other place I know of is Giant-Land. They're a lot easier to come by there."

"Okay. Thanks so much Jillian. That's fairy helpful."

"No problem. I've got to get going, but I'll be back again tonight to help."

"Thanks! We appreciate it." Apple calls after her as she leaves.

"Oh, are we done already?" Raven approaches carrying a shovel over her shoulder.

"Just for now. We're going to pick back up later tonight. But if you're not busy, do you want to walk with me to Bookend? I need to talk to Maddie about something. I'll explain on the way."

"Sure, sounds like fun."

Raven laces their fingers together and they walk hand-in-hand toward the village.

"So I was thinking about uh… the thing we talked about a couple days ago." Raven says as they stop at a crosswalk.

"What?"

"You know, the thing you want to do with our relationship?"

"The break-up?"

"Yeah… that."

"You can say it Raven. We don't have to keep it hidden since everyone's going to find out pretty soon."

"Well, I was thinking-- maybe we should hold off on it. It might make things worse. Think about it, how is it going to look if the Royal/Rebel couple breaks up when Royals and Rebels aren't getting along?"

Apple's lips purse into a frown. Raven has a point, which makes this even more frustrating. There's no reason for them to be together anymore. Can't Raven see she's trying to do her a favor? She's cutting her loose so she can see Dexter without any sneaking around or guilt. Except for whatever reason, Raven doesn't want to let go.

"I think the mood will improve once we catch this vandal. Then as long as we time it right and ask Blondie not to give us too much coverage, we won't cause another crisis."

"But what if we never catch the vandal?"

"We're going to catch them." She says as she yanks open the door to the Tea Shoppe. "I'm personally going to make sure of it."

Apple's never seen the Tea Shoppe this quiet before. She supposes the explanation is it's too late for afternoon tea, but still too early for dinner. The building is still bursting with magical, Wonderlandian energy, but most of the tables are empty. A few teacups and saucers float around idly, as if looking for something to do.

Maddie and her father appear missing. Apple stands on her toes to peek through the kitchen door but doesn't see anyone. On the counter there's a small, silver bell with a handwritten note sitting next to it. In neat calligraphy it reads: _ "Ring for service". _

Apple taps gently on the bell. An impossibly loud foghorn roars in her ears, and an invisible breeze blows her back. She and Raven grab the counter to keep from falling over. A door on the ceiling opens,and Maddie's head pops out.

"Oh hey guys! Did you need something?"

"Hey Maddie, can you answer a few questions if you're not too busy?"

"Of course not. Like the Narrator said, it's not too crazy right now."

Apple shoots Raven a quizzical look. She's still not clear on who this "Narrator" person Maddie keeps referencing is. Raven shrugs, as though to say,  _ just go with it. _

"Do you know if anyone's ordered solar behemoth bean tea recently?" Raven asks.

Maddie scrunches up her face and gags. "I would doubt it. It smells like rotten eggs and tastes even worse."

Apple frowns. She's not at all surprised that something that secretes such a foul-smelling ooze tastes terrible. "Has anyone bought the whole beans? I mean not steeped into tea?"

"I don't think so, but let me check." Maddie ducks back through the door, pulling it shut behind her. She re-emerges through a different door on the front wall with enormous plastic bag in her arms. "Nope. See we haven't even opened  the package yet."

"Do you know if there's any other places in Bookend that sell solar behemoth beans?" Apple asks.

She shakes her head. "There aren't even any other places in Ever After. Dad had to get special permission from the King of Giant-Land to sell them here."

Apple sighs. "Well, thanks for helping us out. By the way, if you're done working by 9 we're going to try digging up the beanstalk again."

"I'll be there!"

"And if it's not too much trouble, could I get a chamomile tea to-go?"

"Coming right up!" Maddie grins and disappears through the door.

"We could sit down at a table if you want. Maybe we could make it a date?" Raven says with the most adorable, sheepish smile.

"We shouldn't, Raven."

It takes all of her will-power to turn her down. She wants to, Grimm does she want to, but she knows it's a terrible idea. She's been trying to scale back on the romantic gestures. Their break-up isn't going to look believable if they're going on happy dates right until the end. Plus it's counterproductive in her attempt to wean herself off this crush on Raven.

"Maybe some other time then?" Raven asks.

"We'll see."

The funny thing is, ever since she mentioned breaking up, Raven's been acting  _ more _ affectionate towards her. She's called her Sweetie more times than her name, held her hand at every opportunity, and committed the cardinal sin of acting affectionate without an audience. Apple's not sure what to make of it. She can only ponder Raven's mysterious reasons for keeping their dying relationship going, and scratch her head in confusion.

Maddie bursts through another door behind the front counter with a steaming hot to-go cup of tea. A saucer swoops down to nuzzle her cheek affectionately as she leaves a few extra coins in the tip jar. Raven reaches for her free hand as they leave, and she can't resist lacing their fingers together.

She never said she had to kick herself off this crush cold turkey.

As they're about to leave someone from the outside pulls open the door. Cupid steps through, looking beautiful but far too overdressed in a floaty, pink cocktail dress. Dexter follows in behind her, with slicked back hair and a suit jacket.

If Apple didn't know any better, she'd think they're on a date. But that can't be the case because Dexter is dating Raven. She and Dexter are madly in love and they're going to get married and she's going to grow old and alone except for her dozens of cats and-

Her train of thought is interrupted when Dexter leans down and kisses Cupid's cheek.

"I'm going to get a table." Cupid giggles, and gives Dexter's arm an affectionate squeeze before heading over to the front counter.

"Ooh be careful with the-" Raven calls out, but not before the foghorn echoes through the restaurant again.

Apple tries to mask her confusion, but her brows won't unfurrow. This relationship came out of  _ nowhere _ and clobbered her over the head. Still, once the initial befuddlement fades away, she starts doing backflips and cartwheels in her head. Dexter and Raven aren't a couple anymore. Which means Raven is single and-- oh no, she's probably heartbroken.

The mental celebration comes to a screeching halt. What a terrible person she is to celebrate someone else's misery.

"So how are things with you and Cupid?" Raven smirks at Dexter. There's no trace of jealousy, betrayal, or hurt on her face. She's doing a convincing job of masking her pain. If Apple didn't know better, she'd never get the impression she's upset.

Dexter grins, and his ears tinge pink. "They're good. Amazing really. I had no idea we'd click so well."

"Dexter! Maddie said we can sit wherever we want!" Cupid shouts.

"Okay, coming Dear!"

Raven nudges him. "Have fun you two."

"We will." Dexter nudges her back. "Have you told her yet?"

"I'm getting there." She mumbles.

"You should tell her." Dexter sing-songs before meeting back up with Cupid.

As they leave the tea shoppe, Dexter pulls out a chair for Cupid at a heart-shaped table in the back. Raven holds the door open for her, and takes her hand once again as they walk up the street.

"Curses!" Raven grimaces. Apple braces herself for an emotional reaction. Raven doesn't have to keep her mask on for appearances sake anymore. Dexter and Cupid are well out of earshot.

"It's okay Raven!"

"No it isn't. I thought talking to Maddie would clear things up, but now this makes even less sense."

"Oh right! That." Apple blinks, and snaps her thoughts back to the vandal. With all the excitement as they left the tea shoppe she's almost forgotten about them.

"I mean-- why the hex would anyone go all the way to Giant-Land just to buy some magic beans? Hexpecially when Tom Thumb's Garden Emporium sells about a dozen different kinds right here."

"I don't know. You're right, it doesn't make sense. Plus Giant-Land isn't hexactly an easy place to visit. The only way to get there is by beanstalk, and those things take hours to climb. That's why my Mom always has the ambassador to Giant-Land visit us instead of the other way around. Giants can shimmy up those things in no time at all."

"So what do we do now? Ask everyone in school if they've visited Giant-Land recently?"

"That seems like the best place to start."

Raven groans. "That's going to take forever."

Apple shrugs. Her thoughts are still too consumed on something else to give the beanstalk her full attention.

"So uh… when did Dexter and Cupid become a thing?"

"Tuesday. That's when he asked her to go to the bookball game with him, as his girlfriend."

"Wow, things sure move fast around here. I was under the impression you and Dexter were still a thing."

Raven laughs. "What? Oh Godmother no. Things didn't really work out between us. Our one and only date was… awkward to say the least."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Apple puts on her best sympathy face, but a thin giggle slips through. She clenches her fist, and attempts to disguise it as a cough.

"Don't be. It's better this way. Dex and I had a heart to heart the other day and we agreed we were better suited as friends." Raven stops walking, and turns to face her, looking her square in the eyes with a delicate expression. "We uh… also both agreed there's someone else we like more.”

"Oh. You already like someone else?"

"Yeah." She laughs, and squeezes her hand. "I think I do."

"Who?"

Raven's hand in her's trembles, and she stands frozen in place. Her cheeks flush pink, and her eyes look like a deer caught in headlights.

"It's okay." Apple says, giving her hand a small, encouraging squeeze. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I know it's kind of a personal question."

"No, you're fine. I'm just a little nervous for your reaction."

"Raven, whoever it is I'm not going to judge you for it."

"It's Uh… it's Daring." Raven bats her lashes, then throws an arm over her forehead and pretends to swoon.  

Apple snorts. Tea nearly shoots out of her nose. "Really, Raven?"

"Really. He's so rugged and handsome. I'm sorry Apple, I know he's your storybook prince, but I can't help the way I feel."

"Right…" Apple rolls her eyes. "Raven, you don't have to lie about it. If you don't want to tell me that's fine."

"No! I want to, but I'm not sure I'm ready to have this conversation yet. So, raincheck?"

Apple nods. She's not sure she's ready to talk about it either. It's going to break her all over again when she finds out who this new object of Raven's affection is. She's already startled and disappointed she's fallen in love again with someone else so fast. It's easier, she thinks, to know she likes someone but not have a name and face to go with it. A mysterious stranger is better than Daring, or Sparrow, or whoever it is.

She can't, however, say she isn't curious.

At dinner she and Raven go around table to table asking everyone if they've visited Giant-Land recently. They talk to at least 200 people, and every single one of them says no. It's discouraging, but Apple hasn't given up hope yet. They've still got hundreds of people left to ask. Plus, they've got a big chunk people they can cross off their list of suspects. Assuming none of them were lying, of course.

After dinner Apple swings by the Headmasters office to get their permission to leave the stadium lights on tonight. She doesn't want everyone out digging in the dark. The lights in the main office are off, and the school secretary has already left for the day. She hopes the Headmasters haven't left too.

She knocks on their door, then waits a few moments before knocking again, this time louder. When the door still remains shut Apple sighs and turns to go. At least they've got some flashlights in the royal student council office they can use, or maybe she can ask Coach Gingerbreadman for his set of keys, assuming he hasn't gone home too.

On her way out she gets distracted by the mess on the secretary's desk. Papers and pens are strewn all over the place. Apple has no idea how she gets any work done with all this clutter. Apple grabs a stack of papers and straightens them into a neat pile. Then another, and another, until she starts to expose the desk's surface.

Underneath one messy pile she finds a clipboard covered in some unknown, sticky substance. Apple gags, and takes out a handkerchief from her pocket. As she wipes the clipboard down she reads the bolded words at the top.

**_"Student Sign-Out Sheet."_ **

Apple's eyes widen. This could be the missing puzzle piece she needs for finding their vandal. Any off-campus trips further than Bookend require a parental signature. If anyone visited Giant-Land during the school year, their name would be here.

Apple scours through the list. There's Raven's dad at the top, signing Raven out to visit Queen Castle for the weekend. Below it is Goldie Lockes, signing out Blondie for a visit to The Enchanted Cul-de-sac. Little Red Riding Hood appears several times to take Cerise to Hood Hollow. There's a dozen other parents taking their kids a dozen other places, but to her dismay none of those places are Giant-Land.

She's about to flip the page when the door to the Headmaster's office opens with a loud squeak. Apple sets down the clipboard and tries to act natural.

"Is there something I can help you with Ms. White?"

"Uh… do you know if any students have visited Giant-Land recently?"

Headmaster Grimm narrows his eyes. "And why hexactly do you need to know that?"

"I… I'm just wondering." She puts on her best, most innocent smile in an attempt to charm the information out of him.

"No. As far as I'm aware, no students have visited Giant-Land this spellmester."

"Oh, okay." She sighs. "Then can I just have the keys for the stadium lights? We're going to try digging up the beanstalk again tonight."

Headmaster Grimm nods, and retrieves the keys from his office.

When Apple arrives at the bookball field at a quarter to nine she's startled by the turnout. There's 35 students on the Royal Student council, but there must be five times that many people sitting in the bleachers waiting to get started. She counts the entire bookball team, all the cheerhexers, the marching band, the rock band club. Not to mention all the people still pouring in through the entrance.

"Maddie, where did all these people come from?" Apple asks when she finds her in the bleachers sitting next to Raven.

"Raven invited them!"

"Not all of them!" Raven says quickly.  "I only asked a few people, but word got around and… well you know gossip spreads fast here at Ever After."

"Yeah, I know."

"I hope you don't mind."

Apple laughs. "Are you kidding? The more the merrier!"

"Okay everybody, let's get started!" Maddie shouts and thrusts a fist in the air. The crowd in the bleachers roars back in response.

With so many extra hands there aren't enough shovels to go around. Raven, Faybelle, and Farrah have to perform a duplication spell to keep up with the demand. It takes a while to get organized, but when Melody puts her high-energy playlist on over the stadium speakers everyone snaps into the groove and the dirt starts flying.

Apple crosses her fingers Jillian's information is correct. She has no reason not to believe her, but so far her luck at getting this thing out has been lousy. To her delight, everything falls into place. The roots are smaller and thinner than a few hours ago, and they don't have to dig under any buildings to get them out. With all the extra hands on board, digging takes hardly anytime at all.

"What do we do now?" She asks Jillian when the final root is unearthed.

"Now you have to burn it, starting from the root tips."

Briar appears out of nowhere with an eager grin and her flamethrower at the ready.

Apple and Maddie evacuate the bookball field as Briar goes around lighting each root tip like a candlestick. Though Jillian assures her there won't be any horrible smell and only the beanstalk will burn, she's not about to take any chances.

Once again Jillian's information proves to be correct. Five minutes later there's no trace of the beanstalk other than a pile of ashes and a gaping hole in the middle the field.

"Thank you everyone so much for helping out!" Apple shouts to the crowd. "Tomorrow I'm going to call an emergency landscaper out here to get our field into tip-top shape."

"Actually, I'll handle that part Apple." A voice from behind her says. She turns around to find Headmaster Giles applauding them.

"Thank you Headmaster!"

"Consider it my treat. I want you all to know my brother and I appreciate the hard work you've put in these past few days."

"Does that mean the victory spellebration's back on?" Briar asks with a hopeful grin.

Headmaster Giles frowns. "No. There will be no parties here until the person who planted the beanstalk is found. Again, if anyone knows anything, please let me or my brother know immediately."

When Apple gets back to her room she collapses into bed. She barely has the energy to take off her shoes, and doesn't even bother changing into her pajamas. She's exhausted from a day of physical and emotional labor.

She falls asleep still thinking about who the hex this vandal is. There's a clue somewhere. She feels like it's staring her right in the face, but her brain is too tired to focus on anything besides how soft her pillows are.

She picks up where she left off in the morning.

"I asked a few more people about visiting Giant-Land."Raven says in-between bites of her cereal at breakfast.

"And?"

She shakes her head. "Aside from Jillian and Tiny, I don't think anyone in this school has  _ ever  _ been to Giant-Land."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get the same impression." She tells Raven about her conversation with Headmaster Grimm the previous night.

"Grimm, it seems like the only logical hexplanation is that whoever planted the beanstalk came from Giant-Land." Raven sighs before taking another bite of cereal. "We're missing something. Maybe there's a black market for magic beans? I could ask Faybelle."

"No, wait a spell, you might be onto something."

Apple thinks about what she said.  _ 'Whoever planted the beanstalk came from Giant-Land.'  _ She thinks about the streamers with the Beanstalk High colors and logo. She thinks about the graffiti, printed in enormous, letters, almost too big for a human to print so neat:  _ 'Rebels suck'.  _ It's a faction of their school, but it's also their team name.

She slams her hands on the table, rattling their bowls of cereal.

"Raven! That's it! I know who did it!"

"Huh?"

"Come on! We have to go tell the Headmasters!" She grabs Raven's hand and runs with her out of the Castleteria.

"Woah, slow down Apple. I don't get it-- who do you think did it?"

"It someone from Beanstalk High! They wanted to psych us out, or get the game moved to their home turf, or probably both now that I think about it."

Raven gasps. "Oh my Godmother, you're right! How did we not think of it before?"

"Because we were all convinced someone here did it."

They burst  through the doors to the Headmaster's office.

"Girls!" Headmaster Grimm shouts, shoving something that looks like little, wooden figurines into his desk. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Headmasters, Raven and I have something fairy important to tell you."

"We think we know who trashed the bookball field."

"Start talking."

At lunch the Headmasters issue a statement over Blondie's MirrorCast show. That morning they spoke with the Headmistress of Beanstalk High, and after some investigating, they discovered the real culprit. It was Hefty Bigman, Beanstalk High's star quarterbook, and three other bookball players. The four of them have been suspended, and won't be playing in tonight's game, making Ever After's victory seem even more imminent.

Nobody celebrates harder than Briar when the Headmaster's announce the victory spellebration is back on. When the final bell rings she snaps back into her default modus operandi: legendary party-planner. Apple tries best she can to assist her, but she can barely keep up as Briar runs around the school making sure everything's in place.

In order to not get run ragged, Apple settles on the stationary task of inflating balloons and tying them down with sandbags. She keep track of how many she inflates in her head. She almost loses track when she gets to 77, distracted her by MirrorPhone vibrating in her pocket.

Sent from Raven at 4:45 PM

_ Want to help me make some posters in my room? _

"Is that Raven?" Briar asks, not looking up from the strobe light she's fiddling with.

"Yup. She wants my help with something. Do you mind if I-"

"Go. Don't worry, I've got this."

She grins. "Thanks Briar."

Sent at 4:47 PM

_ Be there in a sec!! _

Apple knocks on Raven's door, and lets herself in when she finds it's unlocked. Raven sings along to the rock song playing on her MirrorPad. There's a smudge of purple paint on her nose Apple can't help but find adorable. She sits cross legged in front of a poster that reads  _ "GO REB".  _ She's in the middle of painting the  _ E _ when she looks up at her and grins.

_ " _ Hey Sweetie! There's posters and paint on my bed."

Apple nods and grabs some supplies. She settles down next to Raven, and is careful not to get red paint on her floor as she begins making her poster.

"So, can we talk about our break-up?" Apple asks as she paints her first stroke on the poster-board.

Raven sighs. "Can't we worry about it later?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk about. I think the best time to break up is this weekend, after the bookball game and victory spellebration."

"Apple-"

"No, listen to me. Everyone's already in a good mood, and winning the championship will only help improve things more. It's the best time to do it without causing a fuss."

"Apple I don't-- why do you want to break up so badly?" Raven's voice cracks as she says it.

"I never said I wanted to! I only said we should!" She shouts. Her eyes are starting to sting from the tears welling up and blurring her vision.

"But why? I mean, look at all the good our relationship has done. Royals and rebels are getting along better so much since we got together."

"No! It wasn't our relationship that did that! Maybe us being together helped a little, but not as much as actually talking to people and helping them work through their issues."

Raven nods. "You're right. It was silly to think a relationship could solve the school's problems. That night where we talked about our feelings on the balcony made me want to learn more about your perspective than any pep rally or royal/rebel relationship ever has."

"There's no quick fix for the Royal and Rebel tensions. It's going to take time and effort to work past our differences. The best thing to do is keep the conversation going."

"All that being said though-- Apple, I'm not sure I'm ready to end this relationship yet."

Raven tries to grab her hand, but Apple snatches it away.

"No. Raven, we have to break up! I can't do this anymore!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm in love with you!" She shouts. All the emotions she's bottled up are spilling out of her in the messiest possible way. "I love you Raven, as more than just a friend. And I can't keep pretending to date you and pretending it's fine and pretending I don't want something more. Besides, you said you like someone else now. You should be with them and not me."

"Apple, I was talking about you."

Apple stares at her wide-eyed and dumbfounded. Her heart feels like it's going to pound out of her chest. Her emotions are going a thousand miles an hour. She doesn't know whether to laugh or cry or ask Raven to repeat what she said to make sure she heard her right.

"But you said you didn't like me that way."

"Yeah… that was a lie. Well, I was lying to myself more than I was to you. I didn't want to be in love with you. I thought I was setting myself up for disaster. I thought you were straight.”

Apple laughs. "So did I until recently. I've been lying to myself about that for a long time too. This relationship forced me to do some self-reflection. Remember a couple weeks ago when I was acting all weird and distant?"

Raven nods.

"That was uh… me going through a gay panic because I realized I've been in love with you ever since we met."

She laughs. "Me dating Dexter was an attempt to prove I wasn't in love with you. As you can see… I failed pretty miserably."

"Well, now that you know I love you back, maybe we can spellebrate your failure?"

"Oh? And what do you have in mind?" Raven smirks and nudges her shoulder.

"Breaking up."

Raven's face falls flat. "What?"

Apple laughs. "I think we should start fresh. Let's put this fake relationship behind us and start over, for real."

Raven rolls her eyes. "You couldn't have worded that in a way that didn't give me a heart attack?"

Apple grins at her devilishly. "Would you like to do the honors?"

"Okay, let's do this." Raven takes her hand, getting purple paint on it in the process, and locks eyes with her. "Apple, it's over. I'm sorry. I'll always have fond memories of our relationship, and I hope afterwards we can still be friends. Really good friends. Maybe even girlfriends. But  _ this  _ relationship is over."

Apple sniffles and lets out a few crocodile tears. "Oh, Raven, I don't know how I'll ever recover from this heartbreak."

"You're strong Apple, You can survive this."

"Somehow, I'll make it through the pain and love again." Apple takes a breath to regain her composure. "So… how long are you supposed to wait to ask a person out after they've ended a relationship?"

"I think 15 seconds is usually good."

"Well in that case." Apple takes her hands once again, and swallows hard. "Raven, I know you don't really like bookball, but there's this fairy big game tonight and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me as my date?"

"Oh Apple, I'd love to."

"And maybe if this date goes well we can go on more? Because I think your fairy amazing, and sometimes I look at you and melt into a puddle because you're so hextremely gorgeous. I love you a lot Raven."

"I love you too."

Apple leans in closer. She can feel Raven's warm breath on her lips. "I'm so happy we can do this for real now."

"Me too."

Electricity sparks between them as they inch closer and closer. Apple's heart is beating so fast but time is moving so slow. Raven's soft, delicate fingers stroke her hair as her eyes shut and their lips meet.

They start slow and cautious. Lips just brushing against each other and hands just skimming each other's bodies. Then Apple throws her arms around Raven's neck to press their lips even harder. Raven moves her hands from her hair to around her waist. She hopes to Grimm their  neighbors can't hear the  _ noises  _ they're making.

Who lives next door to Raven again? She can't remember anything as Raven's lips turn her brain to mush.

When they break apart Apple can't help but giggle at their reflection in Raven's mirror. Happy tears flow freely down her cheeks. Her lips are still tingling, and she can't remember anything making her feel this good in her life.

"Oh my Godmother look at us. We're covered in paint."

It's in their hair, on their clothes, and all over their faces. They're coated in a red and purple swirl.

Apple laughs whenever she looks at Raven's sign.  _ "GO REBE" _ is painted nice and neat, with straight lines and even brushstrokes.  _ "LS"  _ looks like it was tacked clumsily on, because it was tacked clumsily on. In-between kissing and cleaning up and kissing again, they didn't leave enough time to finish it.

They walk to the bookball field hand-in-hand. They've done this dozens of times before, but knowing the affection behind it is genuine makes it so much sweeter. Apple's cheeks ache from smiling so much.

Maddie is the first person to notice something’s different. She runs up to them at the ticket booth, bouncing up and down in excitement, and squeezes them in a bone-crunching hug. Apple can’t tell if she’s had too many slushies or if she’s genuinely this excited for them.

"You're together! I mean, really together! I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Did the Narrator tell you that?" Raven asks.

"No! I could tell just by looking at you. You're both positively glowing!"

“I heard it from the Narrator though.” Kitty gives them a lazy smile and a thumb’s up. “Way to go you too. You didn’t need any more encouragement from me to finally spit it out.”

The four of them purchase their tickets and enter in through the main gates. Apple gasps at the newly refurbished bookball field. The grass is thick and bright green, and the lines on the field are crisp and clean. No one would be able to tell less than 24 hours ago there was a gigantic beanstalk right where the school logo is.

As they make their way up the bleacher steps Briar approaches them. “Did I hear Maddie right? Are you guys a real couple now?"

Apple nods and squeezes Raven’s hand.

“That’s hexcellent! I'm so proud of you guys!” She turns to Raven. "Hey, I'm sorry I was kind of a jerk to you these past few days."

"It's alright. I probably deserved it."

"Yeah, you did."

Raven bites her lip, and turn her attention towards the bookball field, where Hopper is waving exuberantly at them. "Hey, I think someone's trying to get your attention." 

"Yeah, he does that a lot.” Briar rolls her eyes. She gives him a lazy wave and he almost falls over in joy

"I think Melody's trying to get your attention too." Apple sing-songs, and points up at the announcer's booth.

“She probably just wants my help with the PA system or something. But I’m gonna check with her anyway. I’ll see you guys around." Apple watches with amusement as Briar bounds away, taking the bleacher steps two at a time.

"Want to find somewhere to sit?" SHe asks.

"Yeah I-"

“Raven! Hey Raven! Did you tell her?” Dexter waves with his good arm from on the field.

“You mind if I go say hi?” Raven asks.

"No go ahead." Apple grins. She doesn’t have any reason to feel jealous of Dexter anymore. Raven clambers back down the bleacher steps and towards him, and Apple watches in amusement as Dexter musses up her hair affectionately.

"So you and Raven are still together?" Duchess says with a sneer. "Even though your fake relationship is doing nothing now.” 

“Yup. We're still together. Except now we're a real couple instead of a fake one."

Duchess' eyes widen. She almost drops her plate of nachos. "Holy hex? Did you just admit your relationship is fake?"

She nods. “You were right. Raven and I were only pretending to date to help royals and rebels get along. Our whole relationship was fake up until about two hours ago.”

Duchess knits her brows. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because no one will ever believe you." She smirks, and walks away leaving Duchess' jaw on the ground.

She and Raven claim a row close to the home team’s end zone, near the top of the bleachers. They have an amazing view of the field up here, but from the way Raven press so close against her she gets the feeling she isn't going to pay much attention to the game.

"You know I had a dream once where we were sitting in the bleachers, curled up together under a blanket. I think it was the first time I realized I was in love with you."

"You should've told me. I would've brought a blanket instead of this dumb sign."

Apple shakes her head. "The sign is better."

"Why?"

"Because we can do this."

Apple holds the sign in front of their faces and kisses her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's done! Holy cow you guys, I'm still so shocked I finished it. 
> 
> I can't thank everyone who's supported me though this journey enough! Whether you've been with me for (almost) 3 years or you just found this fic yesterday, I appreciate you so much. Your kudos and comments are what really drove me to finish this. It means the world to me that there's people out there who enjoy this fic and my writing.
> 
> Happy Valentines Day, femslash February, and 20gayteen!
> 
> I'm on tumblr [here](http://smolwonders.tumblr.com/) if anyone ever wants to say hello!


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